Second Chances
by The Raider
Summary: AU S7. After another averted apocalypse, the somewhat divided Scoobies find themselves forced to band together once more in order stop a foe that is still fresh in all of their minds. But what happens when that foe is part of their own?
1. The Beginning

**Historian's Note: This takes place in an alternate universe set after the end of Season 6, 6x22 "Grave", and continues through Season 7. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy or any of the other characters. They belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. **

* * *

**Chapter 1**

As she stared out across the peaceful country side, Willow leaned further back against the tree that continued to support her. The sun was somewhat hidden behind the clouds that were dotted across the sky, just as it had been for the past days. For some reason, the stereotypical depictions of England always being dreary and depressing seemingly made more sense now. All it needed was constant rain, and the image would be complete.

Closing her eyes, she sighed, her body feeling slightly tired, despite all the sleep she had accumulated over the past months. There wasn't much else to do in-between the meetings with the Coven and Giles. The Black Magick was still inside her, although it had been driven deeper into her mind, its power continuing to dim with each day. Giles said it would be inside her for the rest of her days, no matter what she tried to think otherwise. It was a part of her now, as much as the Light was.

Her eyes opening slowly, she could see the sun beginning to set on the distant horizon. Had the day really gone past that fast? It seemed like only minutes had passed. The Coven would be looking for her, along with the only other two people that remained of her life in Sunnydale. As numerous memories came pouring back to her mind, she almost felt like smiling, remembering the numerous times that Xander would recite his usual ritual of the Snoopy Dance. How Anya would constantly worry over her money, and blurt out her numerous sexual conquests with Xander, making everyone else in the room feel awkward. How Buffy and Dawn had constantly been in the midst of a sisterly fight over something that seemed so simple to the rest of them. How much Giles had been at odds with using any form of technology they tried to introduce him to.

How normal the relationship between herself and Tara had been...

The urge to smile fading away completely, the Witch remembered numerous moments when the love between herself and the other girl had seemed like the greatest thing in the world. There had been times when they had simply laid together, not saying anything, but just lying in each other's arms. How much happiness they had found together in each other's embrace, before Black Magick, before Hellgods, before everything that had come after that single summer following the defeat of Adam.

Goddess, it hurt to know how much pain they had all suffered through after those three months of peace. If she had known what was to come, she would have stopped using Magick all together, would have tried to go back to the way it had been in High School. She would have convinced Tara to leave with her, gone someplace where Evil couldn't touch them. They could have been forever in an ignorant bliss. The world could have fallen apart around them, and they never would have noticed.

But hadn't it already done that time after time?

Looking down at the ground beneath her, the grass seemingly silently went on mocking her, telling her that despite whatever could happen around it in the world, it would continue to remain. An unmovable force against all that could dare oppose it. Fire could burn it, reduce it to blackened ashes, but time would heal it, would allow it to return and reclaim its destroyed place. Nothing could stop it, short of an apocalypse that destroyed the planet itself.

She had seen her fair share of apocalypses, knew how close the world had come to being destroyed. She had nearly caused one, had been so desperate to extinguish the pain from the world that destroying it seemed to be the only option that made sense. The power had been so intoxicating that she thought she would never come down from it. And yet, here she was, sitting in the middle of the country, trying her best to make sure that that single part of her could never show itself again in the Light of day.

"Willow?" Looking up at the sound of approaching footsteps, Willow expected Giles to come after her, not the sole remaining person who could look upon her with true love. "Sweetie?"

"They want me again, don't they?"

"They've been asking for you." Nodding, the other girl stopped a few feet from her, her arms folding across her chest in an effort to avoid becoming completely still. "Giles was worried."

"I've been here, doing nothing, just waiting for the Earth to swallow me whole, take me back. That's what they all want, isn't it?"

"Is that w-what _you_ want?" The question wasn't full of anger or surprise, but was instead filled with understanding and sympathy. Both of which made the Witch feel like she didn't deserve them.

"I think I deserve it. That could be my punishment, for everything I did. Would fit the crime." Continuing to look down at the ground, Willow felt the other girl's fingers begin to touch her hair as she knelt down beside her. "Considering that everything is connected. I don't belong here anymore. I don't belong _anywhere."_

"You belong here with me." The girl's comment causing her to finally break her gaze on the grass, the red-head saw the genuine love and affection in the blonde's eyes. "You always have a place where you're wanted."

"I don't deserve to. After everything that happened, everything that's still inside me, how can I be sure that it won't come out and hurt you?" Her fingers toying with a button on her jacket, the Witch her every raised indentation glide underneath her fingertip. "That I won't hurt anyone around me?"

"You won't. I won't let you." Gently kissing her love's cheek, the girl returned to her feet. "Come on, they're still waiting."

"I'm coming." Slowly pushing herself off of the ground that had been her perch for the past hours, the red-head could feel the soreness in her muscles. "Guess I shouldn't have been out here for as long as I have."

"You could have told me where you went."

"Sorry, you were asleep. I didn't want to wake you up." Her hands trying to work their way into the pockets of her jacket, Willow felt the blonde's fingers slip into place with her own, their shape a perfect match.

"I know."

"I'm sorry, Tara." Her head still laden with her heavy thoughts, the Witch allowed the other girl to lead her back towards the grouping of buildings that lay at the bottom of the hill. Around the two of them, the country side was still, with only the occasional farm animal making a sound that broke through the silence. It was just a normal day for everyone outside of the realm of knowing what really went on at night.

"For what?" Her thumb slowly moving back and forth across the top of Willow's hand, Tara knew that the other girl was still nervous in her presence, the memories of what she had done and almost caused continuing to haunt her.

"You know what." Keeping her eyes on the houses ahead of them, Willow knew that her other half wasn't going to simply let the matter drop. That wasn't the kind of person she was, even more so ever since they had left Sunnydale.

"You mean for killing Warren, for trying to kill Buffy, for hurting all of us?" Unable to voice the simplest reply, the red-head only nodded.

_"Goddess, I'm sorry."_ A single tear escaped from her eye, the drop trailing down her cheek at a slow but steady pace. "I…I couldn't stop thinking that you were dead, and that I wasn't going to be able to go on without you. I didn't _want _to go on without you."

"I know, I know, it's ok. We know what happened, I'm fine."

"No, it's not!" Stopping, the Witch looked at the other girl while tears continued to well up in her eyes. "It's not ever going to be alright again! They're never going to leave me, they're a part of me!" Silently watching the other girl speak, the blonde held onto her hand, letting the girl know that she wasn't going to leave. "I want them out of me, I don't want them there!"

"But you're getting better." Offering a small smile along with her words, Tara reached up with her free hand and wiped the tears off of the girl's face. "That's why we're here. To help you control it."

"I…I know, but it hurts. Goddess, it _hurts."_ Looking back at the blonde through her tear-stained green eyes, Willow looked to be on the brink of an emotional breakdown, a complete contrast to the removed girl that the other girl had seen only minutes before. "I don't want it to hurt anymore. I don't want to hurt _you_ anymore."

"I won't let you. _You _won't let you."

"But I don't know if I can. It wants to come out at times, it almost does, and I'm barely able to control it. I could hurt you."

"You already did once, and I forgave you. I know you won't do it again. You can't." Smiling slightly from behind her tears, the red-head could feel the fears inside her brain beginning to fade as she listened to the blonde's words.

"Willow?" Turning her head, the Witch could hear Giles calling out her name, the former Watcher obviously becoming slightly impatient as he continued to wait for her arrival.

"Come on, they're waiting for you." Smiling, Tara's feet again fell into step, her hand bringing the other girl along with her as the stepped into the doorway.

"Ah, there you both are. The Coven is already waiting for you."

"Sorry. I was…thinking." Hearing the girl's answer, Giles took note of it, but refused to press the conversation any further. Gesturing with his hand towards the door behind him, he felt a small twinge of pain in his chest as he watched the girl emptily open the door and walked through it, with Tara following her just as she always did. To think of all the heartbreak and hardships they had suffered through within the span of only a few months made the former Watcher wonder if innocence truly had a place in the world anymore.

* * *

As she ducked underneath yet another attack from the vampire, Buffy felt the thread of annoyance inside her continuing to grow to an unbelievable amount.

"Did anyone ever tell you that the whole 'fight to the death' thing gets kinda old after a while?" She said, feeling her fist connect with her opponent's cheek. The attack sending him flying to the ground, the vampire looked up at her with its yellow eyes filled with a mix of rage and hunger. "Because I honestly think that maybe you guys didn't get the memo."

Responding only with a growl, the vampire was on his feet once more, his fists shooting out in an attempt to land a blow on the Slayer. As each attack flew harmlessly past her, Buffy rolled her eyes before jamming the wooden stake deep into the demon's heart, causing it to explode into a cloud of dust. As the last remnants of her foe fell onto her boots, the Slayer sighed.

"And yet another vamp turned into dust beneath my feet."

"But we love you for it." As he pulled himself onto his feet from his place on the ground, Xander smacked the dirt off of his jeans. "Especially when we get front row seats to all of it."

"Glad to know that you enjoy it all." Smiling at her friend's joke, the blonde girl couldn't help but roll her eyes. "I aim to please."

"Xander does as well. Like last night, we were in this one position that I learned from the time I was in Europe during the Dark Ages, and-" As she started to border close to details her boyfriend would rather not have out in the open, Anya offered a wide smile. "Never mind."

"Thanks." As they all moved towards the entrance to the graveyard, the three Scoobies could still hear the echoing music from the Bronze's midnight crowd. Why exactly the city had decided to build a resting place for the dead so close to the town's only source of night life remained elusive. Common sense was something that could be deemed to be a rare gift atop the Hellmouth.

"Alrighty, so we've won the nightly game against the Forces of Darkness, what's to stop us from hitting up the Bronze?"

"Hitting up the Bronze with your ex-fiancé? Bold of you."

"You didn't tell her?" As her eyes lit up with a combination of shock and anger, Anya barely managed to resist the urge to slap the teenager beside her. "Xander!"

"Tell me what?"

"Me and Anya decided to try and date again."

"And you realize that she's a Vengeance Demon again, right?" Perking up her eyebrow, Buffy simply stood looking at the other two beings in front of her. It had only been two months since she had discovered through the Demonic version of a grape-vine that Anya had once more accepted her former position as a vengeance demon. Xander himself hadn't been surprised at the turn of events, considering what had happened between the two of them on their aborted wedding day.

"Completely understand. What can I say, I'm a glutton for punishment." Avoiding his girlfriend's angry glare, Xander chuckled slightly. "So, you coming with us?"

"I've gotta go home and check on Dawn." Offering her two friends a small smile, the Slayer stuck the stake into the loop of her belt.

"Come on, Buf, you're not giving her enough credit. She can take care of herself!" Beaming slightly, Xander smiled.

"Xander!" Hitting her boyfriend on his forearm, Anya frowned at him. "It's obvious that Buffy doesn't want to be a third wheel!"

"Subtle much?"

"Xander, its fine." Smiling, Buffy almost found herself chuckling as she listened to the two argue. "Plus I'm kinda tired. Figured I'd turn in early."

As she heard the Slayer's answer, the vengeance demon eyed her date wearily.

"Shouldn't you be doing that too? You have work in the morning, and that brings us money, at the expense of robbing us of our time to have sex."

"I have tomorrow off. Union regulations." Pushing his hands into his pockets, Xander continued to smile for a few more minutes before the three of them arrived at the front of the Bronze. "So, have you heard any more from Willow or Tara?"

"Not lately. Tara sent us a letter a week or so ago, but that's been it."

"And?"

"Did she say whether or not Willow is still all black and veiny?" Perking up her eyebrow, a frown came to Anya's lips. "Because she still owes me for destroying my source of money."

"She's getting better, she's back to the closest thing to normal that she can be." Her gaze falling to the ground, Buffy's smile faded away from her face. "Tara said she misses us, but is afraid to see us."

"Why would Wills be afraid to see us? It's not like we're going to strike her down on the spot."

"Tara said that she told her that she feels like she doesn't belong here anymore, that she's afraid she'll hurt us."

"That doesn't make any sense. This is her home. Granted, we're full of all kinds of creatures of the night, but it's still home nevertheless." Opening the door to the Bronze, Xander held it for Anya to enter. "You coming?"

"Nah, I'm going home. Night." Giving her friend a small wave, Buffy made her way along the sidewalk as she started off towards home. Above her, the night sky continued to shine brightly as the moon shone down on the land below it.

* * *

_"You can't stop this." As she watched Xander stand in front of her, Willow could still feel the Dark Magicks circulating through her veins, continuing to power her through every other emotion that continued to pool inside her. It made her forget…_

_"Yeah, I get that." His eyes focused solely on her, Xander knew that he was standing between his oldest friend and the end of the world. And strangely…none of it seemed to matter. He knew what had truly happened to set her off like this, and it would only take minutes for that reason to get here. _Just a few minutes…_ "Trust me, I completely get that. It's just that, where am I going to go? You've been my best friend my whole life. World's gonna end - where else would I want to be?"_

_"Is this the master plan then?" Chuckling slightly, Willow rolled her black eyes in amusement. "You're going to stop me by telling me you _love_ me? Great plan."  
_  
_"Well, I was going to walk you off a cliff and hand you an anvil, but it seemed kinda cartoony." Ignoring his friend's dark laughter, the teenager continued to joke, just as he always had._

_"Still making jokes, even after all this. You haven't changed a bit." Her hands remained at her side, but he knew that all she had to do was lift them one inch, and he could die. She commanded that kind of power now, and she had already shown that she had no problem using it. Even on her friends._

_"I'm not joking. I know you're in pain. I can't imagine the pain you're in. I know you're about to do something apocalyptically evil and stupid and hey, still want to hang. You're Willow."_

_"Don't call me tha-"_

_"First day of kindergarten you cried 'cause you broke the yellow crayon and you were too afraid to tell anyone." Interrupting her, Xander could already see the other figure slowly approaching his friend from behind her, however dangerous the action may be. _Just a little bit longer…"_You've come pretty far, ending the world, not a terrific notion but the thing is, yeah. I love you. I loved crayon-breaky Willow and I love scary veiny Willow. So if I'm going out, it's here. You wanna kill the world? You can start with me. I've earned that."_

_"You think I won't?"_

_"It doesn't matter. I'll still love you, and _she'll_ still love you."_

_"Don't you _dare_ bring her up in front of me." Raising her hand, Willow felt the power inside her start to flow forward as the words to a spell already began to form on her lips._

_"Why don't y-you make him?" _That stutter…no, no, no._.. As she turned around, the Witch could see Tara standing a few feet behind her, the bandage covering her shoulder still holding the drying blood from the gunshot, the same blood that had covered her shirt hours ago._

_"You're not here, this...this is a trick." Even as she said the words, Willow didn't want to believe them. She had seen the bullet hit Tara, had seen and felt the lack of response from her as she had held her in her arms. "I watched you die."_

_"She's there, Wills. Look at her, does it look like she's dead?" Continuing to block his friend's contact with the statue, Xander knew that either of them could get through to her. "Does it look like she's not here?"_

_"Willow, sweetie, don't do this." Taking a step towards her love, Tara's steps were filled with a dulled pain from the bullet wound still so fresh on her shoulder. "I love you."_

_"You're not real!" Slashing her hand in the air, Willow watched as the girl's cheek erupted with three bloody scratches, the wounds appearing within seconds._

_"I love you." The other girl repeated, the blood already drifting down her cheek as she continued to walk._

_"Shut up!" Her palm shooting out, the black-haired Witch watched the girl fall to her knees as the spell impacted upon her chest. Looking up, the blonde was only able to return to her feet with an immense struggle._

_"I…love you." Again blasting the girl with the spell, she watched as Tara refused to go down again, managing to stumble her way through the blast, as if the attack had lost some of its power._

_"I…love…you."_

_"Stop…" The words beginning to bring tears to her eyes, the Witch again let a spell fly out of her palm. The spell hitting her squarely in the chest, the blonde girl kept coming._

_"I love you." As she reached the girl, Tara held her slightly bloodied hands out to her, the mixture of pain and fear in her eyes making Willow's heart break even further inside her chest._

_"Stop it!" Her hands curling into fists, Willow brought them down on the other girl's shoulders and mid-section, the intensity of the attacks finally tapering off completely as the tears began to freely flow down her cheeks. Her bloody hands gripping onto the Witch's shirt, Tara continued to hold her even as the two of them fell to the ground. Approaching them, Xander watched as his oldest friend continued to sob in her love's shoulder, the blood from the blonde's wound continuing to creep down her creek_

_"I'm sorry, I'msorry, I'msorry, I'msorry…"_

_"It's ok, ssshhh, stop crying, it's alright." Her hand stroking the crying's girl's hair, Tara saw the blackened strands beginning to return to their normal fiery red color._

_"I'msorry, I'msorry…"_

* * *

As she continued to toss and turn underneath the sheets, Willow's forehead was beaded with sweat as the memories kept unfolding once more inside her dream. Her arms wrapped around the whimpering red-head's body, Tara could feel how cold the girl was. This is how it always was after the Coven had accomplished their daily 'cleansing' of the Black Magicks within the other girl. There was sickness, nightmares, and overwhelming cold. It reminded her of what she had read in her Health courses at college, of how withdrawal usually was for addicts.

Her Willow was a recovering addict.

"Ssshhh, it's alright." Whispering the hushed words into the other girl's ear, she continued to hold onto her, wishing that the red-head would simply awaken from the dream and allow her to comfort her. Melting fully into her lover's warm body, Willow continued to shake and whimper, the dream only continuing to worsen with each memory. It was just another night.

"Tara?" The name escaping from her lips as she silently awakened from the dream, Willow shivered as she felt how cold her body was compared to everything around her. "I'm c-cold."

"I know, sweetie. You always are after the rituals." Kissing the other girl's cheek, Tara continued to hold onto her, able to feel the cold sinking into her own skin. "But they're making you better."

"I had the nightmare again."

"I know." Her fingers holding onto the blonde's arm, the Witch tried to push the memories away, the images of that day continuing to flash before her eyes. Inside her, the Black Magicks lay dormant, but she could still sense them, still hear them calling to let them take over. She remembered how much harder it was when the rituals had first started, when they had first come to England. The pain and cold were unbelievable, and it was only because of Tara holding her that she was able to make it through the night and into the day. Over the weeks, the after-effects had dulled somewhat, but they still had power behind them.

"When is it going to stop? I'm supposed to be getting better."

"I don't know." Saddened that her answer wouldn't help the girl, Tara laid her head against the red-head's neck. "I don't know any more than y-you do."

"Giles probably knows." Her eyes open and staring at the wall across the room, the Witch could feel the cold sweat staining the pillow underneath her cheek. "They all know."

"They're helping you, sweetie, it's not their fault."

"I want it to stop." Resisting the urge to cry by will alone, Willow wrapped her leg around Tara's. "I want to be good again."

"You are, honey. You're good." Entwining her fingers with the red-head's, the other girl lifted her head and kissed the Witch's cheek. "You're not bad."

"I killed someone, how am I still good?" Still shaking, the Witch continued to hear the Magicks inside her talking to her, telling her that she was the same as them.

"That wasn't you. You were in pain, so much that it made you forget who you are. That person, that wasn't Willow Rosenberg. That was someone else."

"It doesn't feel like it."

"Just go back to sleep, you'll feel better if you get some rest." Giving the girl one last kiss, Tara reached up with her recently freed hand in order to run her fingers gently through the other girl's fiery red-hair. As she closed her eyes and tried to find sleep once more, Willow continued to tremble as the chills coursed through her blood.

"Tara?" Saying the girl's name one more time, the Witch felt the fingers gliding through her hair stop for a single moment. "Please, don't leave me."

"I won't." Continuing to feel her girl's hair, the blonde felt the Witch's breathing begin to return to its normal pace, the trembling starting to taper off as well. As she heard the girl finally drift back into sleep, Tara sighed.

It was just another night.


	2. An Almost Relapse

**Thanks to those who have reviewed so far. It's appreciated :) I've poured alot of time and effort into this fic. This thing is basically my baby, my way of 'fixing' the numerous things that I think were wrong with Season 7. **

**Just a side note, there will be alot of flashbacks throughout this entire story. For anyone confused as to why Tara is still alive, Warren _still_ shot her, but instead of the bullet hitting her heart, it simply went through her shoulder. Non-fatal wound. She was still knocked out when the bullet hit her, considering that there had to be a fair amount of shock flowing through her brain when she felt the bullet hit her. So, in response, Willow thought she was dead, which is due to the amount of shock that she was feeling herself. All the Dark Willow stuff still happened as portrayed in the show, apart from the numerous changes that had to be made because Tara wasn't dead.**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy or any of the other characters. They belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. **

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**Chapter 2**

As she stood under the shower head, Willow closed her eyes, letting the sensation of warmth flow over her otherwise cold skin. She hated knowing that the memories had returned to her dreams the previous night, had taunted her and nearly broken her all over again. But it was a necessary part of why she was here, as Giles had told her numerous times when she had let him know about the after-effects of the cleansing rituals the Coven performed. It wouldn't do her any good to simply run away from what she had done, she had to confront the horror and pain of what she had caused. That didn't make it any easier though.

If it wasn't for Tara, she didn't know what she would do at night when the dreams made her wake up in a cold sweat, with her heart racing inside her chest. She couldn't even think of what it would be like to go back to waking up in a bed without seeing and feeling the other girl by her side. There had been the months after she had left, had made her see the addiction to Magick that was inside her, and it had been hard enough dealing with those feelings once. She couldn't go back to that.

Tara had promised to help her get better, to be there when she needed to be helped back up, saying that it was her fault that everything had gone so wrong that day. The red-head knew that it was a lie, that she had been the sole one to react by absorbing the Black Magicks and going on a suicide mission against Warren and the others. If she could, she would have taken all of it back. She_ should _have been able to feel the pulse that Tara had still had when the bullet had gone through her shoulder. But she had been in a panic, had been so overwhelmed by the thought of losing her love forever that she had begged for something to overtake her.

"Willow, are you alright in there?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, Tare-bear." Opening her eyes, the Witch's hand reached out and turned off the water. She remained standing underneath the still dripping faucet, the drops landing with a subdued plop on her drenched red-hair. The cold inside her body was still there, although it had started to fade away, just as it always did. It would be back again later, once the cleansing rituals were done once more. And then Tara could comfort her through the pain.

"Honey?"

"I'm fine!" Shouting out the answer in order to make sure that the other girl could hear, Willow almost immediately regretted it as she felt the Magicks inside her mind starting to tug with more strength. As they kept pulling, trying to work their way into control using her emotions, she fell to her knees, the sound echoing out of the bathroom and into the surrounding rooms.

"_Let us take control, you want it, crave it."_

"_No, no, no, _I'm not angry, I'm not angry..." Wrapping her arms around herself, she continued to fight the Magicks, actually able to feel them trying to work their way into her brain.

"Willow?"

"_She can't hide you from us. Let us in. We can make it all go away, just like we did before." _

"_I'm not angry, Goddess, please stop…" _As she pulled back the curtain, Tara caught sight of the other girl curled into a ball, her entire body starting to shake as she muttered underneath her breath.

"Willow?!" Gathering the shaking girl into her arms, the blonde Wiccan pressed the girl's body against her chest, ignoring how wet her clothes were becoming. As she realized what was happening, her heart dropped to the bottom of her chest. "Honey, it's alright, come on, fight it!"

"…_not angry, not angry, not angry." _ Continuing to mumble as she fought off the Magicks inside her brain, Willow's body kept shaking, the chills starting to return in full force as she struggled inside. Minutes passed before she felt the Magicks lose their newly found strength and return to their dormant place inside her mind. As she continued to shake, she looked up at the girl holding her with fearful eyes.

"Tara?" She said, her voice shaky and almost breaking despite its low volume. "Oh, God, I'm sorry."

"It's alright, y-you didn't give into them." Pressing the girl's head against her chest, Tara kissed the top of the red-head's hair numerous times, allowing the other girl to cry into her chest. "It's alright."

"I was angry for just a second and it came back..." Willow managed to push out in between sobs.

"It's alright, just be quiet. You're fine." Helping the girl onto her feet, she led her towards the bedroom, easing her down into a sitting position on the edge of the mattress. Her body still soaking wet, Willow's chest rose and fell into quick succession as she tried to prevent herself from sobbing any further. Returning with a towel in hand, the other girl wrapped the soft material around the Witch's cold and wet body. As she ran another one through the girl's red-hair, Tara felt herself at a loss for what to say. It had been months since Willow had almost relapsed, and for a moment, she had let herself believe that neither of them were in any danger. In one single instant, that feeling of security was gone.

"Goddess, I'm so sorry. Tara, I shouldn't have yelled. That made them want to come back, gave them a window. It's my fault."

"No, it's not. You couldn't help it. The Coven w-will help you."

"They're going to make me start all over again." Looking down at the floor while she let the other girl continue to dry her off, Willow's eyes lacked any emotion whatsoever. "I'm going to feel all that pain again."

"They w-won't make you start again. Willow, honey, you didn't give into the Magick. You're alright." Setting the towel down, the blonde cupped the other girl's cheeks and gently turned her head until the red-head was looking at her. "You didn't give into it, you did exactly what we came here to do."

"But you don't know how much part of me wanted to give into them. Tara, a part of me _wanted_ to be in the dark again." As a single tear escaped from her eyes and fell down her cheek, Willow looked at the other girl with a frightened look on her face.

"And the other part?"

"It wanted to stay here with you, it wanted to get better. But, Goddess, it was so weak, it almost couldn't stop the Magicks." Still crying, the red-head's hand reached out and gripped part of her love's shirt. "Tara, help me, _please."_

"Just calm down, I'm here." Kissing the girl's forehead, Tara kept her gentle grip on her cheeks. "Freaking out won't help y-y-you."

"_Goddess,_ I'm so scared."

"Willow…"

"Tara, please, I don't want to go back to that, it hurts when I do. But it hurts when I don't."

"Willow, look at me!" Her voice rising in volume, Tara watched as the red-head nodded silently. _"Y-You. Are. Fine._ Nothing is going to take over you. If it was going to, it would have done so already."

"Tara…"

"It's alright. Stop crying." Taking the towel back into her hands, Tara gently wiped away some of the tears staining the other girl's cheeks.

"I don't want it to come back" The last of her tears finally wiped away, Willow buried her head into Tara's shoulders. "Tara, please…" She managed to push out before her voice crumbled into sobs once more.

"I promised that I w-would help you." A small tear creeping down her own cheek, Tara's fingers gently caressed the other girl's fiery red hair.

"Ta-ra, I'm sorry…I'm sorry…" As the tears again rolled down her cheeks, the red-head buried her face even further into her love's shirt "I'm so-rry."

"Sssshhh, it's alright." Pulled the still crying girl away from her shirt, the blonde offered her a small smile. "Let's get you back to bed."

Nodding with the tears still running down her cheeks, Willow allowed herself to be led back onto her feet and around the side of the bed. As she laid down onto the waiting sheets, the Witch closed her eyes as Tara covered her body with the still warm sheets.

"Just try to get some sleep, I'll be right here."

"I'll try." Her body starting to shake again, the red-head felt the other girl's touch on her cheek, the warmth and care that seemingly pooled out from the simple touch calming her slightly. As she tried to focus on nothing but the breaths that she was taking and Tara's touch, the Witch felt the feeling of exhaustion taking over her. She hadn't realized how much strength could be taken away from fighting with the Magicks inside her, or how much she relied on her strength to keep herself awake.

As the sheets underneath her grew with more warmth, Willow finally felt consciousness ebbing away until she finally drifted back into sleep.

* * *

"Giles, w-w-we need to talk." As he looked up from the ancient volume he had been absorbed in, Giles watched as Tara charged into his room.

"About what?"

"Willow. W-W-Why else w-would I come charging in here like an angered idiot?" The stutter returning to her voice in order to accommodate the anger she felt, the blonde girl came to a stop only a few feet from where the man was currently sitting. "W-When is she going to be back to the w-way she was before?"

"I won't lie to you, Tara. The progress Willow has made, it's tremendous. But I fear that it might not be enough." Giles said with a sigh as he sat the book down onto the table.

"What do you mean?"

"The Dark Magicks that she absorbed, they're some of the most potent forms of Dark Arts that I've seen. Many people would have completely succumbed to that kind of power." As he removed his glasses, the former Watcher nevertheless kept his gaze focused solely on the young woman in front of him. "There exists the chance that what she has done to herself may be completely undone. I've told her as much. The Darkness that she absorbed in a part of her now."

"Giles, she's fighting it. Y-You weren't there this morning when I found her on the floor of the tub. She wouldn't let it take over her again." Crossing her arms across her chest, Tara continued to stare the man down. "She's getting better."

"Again, she's made a remarkable progression since our arrival. But I fear that it may not be enough simply to have her constantly fighting with these Powers inside her."

"What does the Coven think of this?"

"They claim that what they are doing is working. The amount of Magick that they have collected thus far is substantial."

"Then w-w-why don't you agree with them?" Holding her ground, Tara looked back at the former Watcher with accusing eyes.

"Because I have experience in dealing with the kind of Magicks that she now finds herself at odds with. I was barely able to pull myself out of it when I was in my youth. I fear that Willow might not be as strong."

"She's stronger than you know." _Strong like an Amazon. _Closing her eyes, the blonde girl sighed. "Is there anything w-we can do about what she goes through after the Rituals? She's in nothing but pain after them."

"I'm afraid not. Once you told me about the side-effects at first, I asked them. There truly is nothing that can be done about them, other than to let her weather them."

"Giles, it's like she's going through a withdrawal, like a drug addict would do. I read about them in college."

"I'm not entirely sure that you're aware of what she's gone through. It was Willow's addiction that gave her a place to run to once you sustained your wound. That addiction was part of her response to what happened." As he returned his glasses onto his face, the former Watcher pushed himself away from the table and back onto his feet. "In a manner of speaking, Willow overdosed on Magick when she absorbed the Power contained in those books."

"Are the Rituals going to eventually cure her?"

"That is a matter that would best be brought to the Coven. I can't speak for them, only for myself." Turning away without any further questions, Tara left the room. As she closed the door behind her, the girl made her way through the rest of the massive cottage, her mind focused solely on the girl that she had helped into bed only half an hour earlier. Finally reaching the door, she opened it slowly, trying to avoid making any unnecessary sounds that could disturb the sleeping girl. The small rooms held inside were utterly silent, save for the somewhat constant sound of Willow's breathing as it echoed through the air.

Silently making her way into the darkened bedroom, Tara could see Willow underneath the sheets, even despite the closed blinds. As she watched the girl sleep, she saw that she looked somewhat peaceful, a welcomed sight from what she had looked like this morning. Making her way around the side of the bed, she looked down at the girl's sleeping form. As she lifted her hand and gently laid her hand against Willow's cheek, the blonde could feel the dried tears on her cheek. _My poor girl…_

Withdrawing her hand, she made her way along the edge of the mattress until she reached the other side, the sound of her footsteps subdued as much as she could possibly manage. As she slipped off her shoes, she could hear Willow's breathing stop for a moment before it resumed its normal pattern. Letting out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding inside, Tara slipped underneath the sheets and wrapped her arm gently around the red-head's stomach.

"Tara?" The girl asked, her voice groggy and exhausted.

"_Ssshhh_, just go back to sleep." Entwining the half-asleep Witch's fingers with her own, the blonde girl gave them a small squeeze before closing her own eyes, suddenly aware of how tired she actually was.

_My poor Willow. What have you done to yourself?_

* * *

_Dear Everyone, _

_I'm sorry for not writing. Guess you could say that I haven't been myself lately…I guess I haven't been for a long time now. I have no-one to blame for that but myself. _

_I guess maybe I should ask how everyone is doing, but I don't think I need to. I'm sure you're all getting along fine now that I'm no longer in the picture. My Magick use made a lot of things worse, not just for me, but for all of you. All I can say is that I'm sorry. I can say it a million times, but I'll still feel like you won't truly accept it, especially Dawnie. She of all people should hate me, after what I did to her, what I tried to do to her. I can bear the thought of her hating me, if only because I know that I deserve it._

_I don't know what else to tell you. I'm sure Tara's been writing you, and she's told of you of how well I'm doing. Every day is a challenge when I wake up. What I did, what I took into me, it's still there, fighting me, talking to me, begging me to let it take over and do what it wants to the world. It hurts to know that I did this to myself, but I don't know if I would change what I did. Giles told me that things happen for a reason. I don't know why this happened to me, but there has to be something behind it. Until I know for certain what that is, I'll take whatever pain is thrown at me._

_I don't know if you still feel the same, but I love you all with each breath that I take._

_Love, Willow_

_P.S. Tell Dawnie, I'm sorry._

"That's all she wrote?" As she read over the last part of the letter once more, Dawn could barely believe that Willow could have written such a short letter compared to the long ones Tara sent home almost monthly. The handwriting on the paper seemed so familiar but yet so different from the scrawling that she had once seen on notes taped to the fridge. Where once there had been a certain confidence in each little line, there now was an almost apathetic approach to the words.

"That's it. Remember, Tara said she's doing better."

"I didn't say that she wasn't. I asked if that was all she wrote." Setting the paper down onto the counter, the younger Summers child eyed her sister with a forced casual look. "You know, if she had anything more to say after what happened."

"Dawn, she said she's sorry. The least you can do is pretend like you actually care."

"I didn't say that I didn't!" Barely able to contain herself, the younger girl closed her eyes for a moment and breathed out. "I just feel like we're kinda brushing this underneath the rug."

"Excuse me?"

"Buffy, you've basically acted like Willow going all evil wasn't something that was a big deal." As her hands came to rest on her hips, Dawn looked at her sister with a growing look of anger and slightly hidden hurt crossing her pupils. "Aren't you?"

"Dawnie, I thought we went over this. What Willow did…she wasn't in control of herself. She thought Tara was dead, and that set her off."

"So what happens if she comes back and discovers that someone stole the last piece of toast? She gonna start killing people then?"

"Dawn…"

"No, Buffy, don't 'Dawn' me, I'm right. She's a threat to all of us, including Tara and Giles." Making her way around the side of the counter, the younger girl stormed out of the room, leaving it virtually impossible for her sister to have the last word.

"Dawn! We're not done here!"

"Yeah, we are!" Hearing the unmistakable sound of a door being slammed, Buffy sighed and rolled her eyes. Dawn had matured over the past three or four months, but this truly brought back bad memories of how she had been much earlier.

"I'm really a guardian of the year, aren't I?"

* * *

"The Dawnster really thinks that?" As he sat his drink down onto the table, Xander looked across the table at his second-oldest friend.

"I heard it straight from her mouth." Eying the other teenager from across the table, Buffy was pleasantly surprised that he had heard her the first time. The Bronze had gone through a massive renovation in the past few months, and as a result, the entire room shook with the music blasting out of the new PA system. "Guess saying that she's still a little bit angry about what Willow tried to do to her is a little obvious."

"You could say that." Rolling her eyes with boredom, Anya continued to stir her drink with the small red straw that say in the middle of the liquid. "If only it had been a man that had scorned her like that. I could help her just like that."

"Anya, not really helping here." Raising her eyebrow, the blonde Slayer rested her gaze for only a moment more before she shifted her attention back onto Xander. "So, what do you think we should do?"

"Honestly, I don't know. I'm not really one with the whole 'little sister' trouble thing."

"Still, do you think you could talk to her? She'll probably listen to you more than she would with me."

"I can try. No guarantees."

"Again, I completely offer her my services." Smiling, Anya nodded at the Slayer.

"Thanks, but no thanks."


	3. To Make You Feel My Love

**Again, thanks to all the people who have reviewed so far :) Your feedback is greatly appreciated :D**

**And yes, what the Coven speaks is indeed real Latin. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy or any of the other characters. They belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. The song lyrics that appear within the chapter belong to Bob Dylan and Columbia Records.**

* * *

**Chapter 3**

"Are you ready?" Continuing to breathe deeply as she lay in the center of the floor, Willow kept her eyes shut.

"Yes."

"Then we will begin." As the Coven began to chant, the red-headed Witch focused only on her breathing. Her body and mind were already prepared for the sensations of what was to come. It wouldn't be as bad as it had been the first week that she had arrived, but there was still a noticeable pain that accompanied the Dark Magicks being effectively 'drained' out of her. It gave her some comfort to know that Tara was watching the entire Ritual from across the room, with Giles at her side. As soon as the Ritual was over, the blonde girl would comfort her. Her touches were the only things she had to look forward to. The cold that infected every inch of her body would come along with the sensations of her touch, and then later on the memories would come back, forcing her to relive them once more.

"_Hecate , temerarius nostrum dico Audio vestri filia plight huic vicis of obscurum Is has palor ex vestri telum quod obscurum has captus super suus plight Solvo obscurum e suus!"_

As the chants began to echo through the room, she felt the dormant Magicks inside her beginning to move, shooting up through her muscles at a furious pace. Inside her head, Willow could hear them calling out to her, just as they had done earlier the previous day. They had lost much of their power in the presence of the Coven, but they still held enough sway to begin to tug at the edges of her mind. _Don't let them do this to us, Willow. They're taking us away from you. You put us here._

"_You're not going to stop this."_

"_Hecate , audio vestri filia poena In suus vicis of postulo , is verto ut vestri hostilis Indulgeo suus , pro is eram caecus quod perussi in moeror Tear obscurum ex suus somes quod solvo is nobis!"_

Intensifying the Ritual, the members of the Coven continued to sit around her in a circle, the power encircling them stretching out across the entire room. Able to feel the hair around her face being lifted into the air, the red-head knew that she was levitating a few feet above the ground now, the slightly cool wooden floor having departed contact with her skin moments earlier. The air had a slight chill to it as it ran over her naked body, the markings made across her stomach allowing the Dark Magicks to have an opening in order to escape.

As the first 'wave' of Magick shot out of her body and into the air above the waiting circle, Willow couldn't stop the cry that escaped from her lips as her stomach erupted into pain. With each passing second, the pain grew, spreading across her senses like wildfire. Ignoring her cries, the Coven continued with the Ritual, drawing more and more of the Magick out of her body.

_Willow… _Continuing to watch the Ritual unfold, Tara had to remind herself what was happening in order to prevent the urge to rush to the other girl's side from taking over her. As she felt Giles rest his hand on her shoulder, she breathed out deeply. It hurt her to see her love in pain, but the Rituals were helping her, despite the cries that made her think otherwise. Closing her eyes, she tried to push away the images that still were unfolding only a few feet away from her.

"It's almost over." Whispering into the girl's ear, Giles never once removed his gaze from the floating red-head that he had brought here. In many respects, he felt protective of her, much like a father would be over his daughter. He had watched her mature over the years, had seen the sacrifices she had been forced to make. When he had fought her and had seen how lost she had become within the months of his leaving, it hurt him inside.

But even he had to admit that inside, no-one was hurting more seeing her like this than the young woman standing beside him. He saw the overwhelming pain that flooded into her eyes when the Rituals began and afterwards when Willow looked like nothing more than a young addict going through withdrawal. In many regards, it was like the young woman played the role of a protective mother when it came to Willow. After all that had happened between them, when the red-head had used Magick to erase part of her memory, still so soon after the other girl's encounter with Glory, Tara still loved her. In a way, they had found forgiveness in each other.

Magick was something that neither of them used to any degree anymore, mainly due to Willow's fear of possibly falling back into her old habits. The Watcher knew that Tara herself had her own potential to use Magick, but had chosen not to focus on it. Magick was only one side of the coin to a way of life that she led. In the time since their arrival, Giles had learned much more about her through conversations while Willow either meditated or read books. Tara's mother had been a Witch, and had instilled a sense of what Wicca was supposed to be into her daughter. In some ways, the young woman had tried to teach Willow some of it, who had been, understandably, hesitant towards it. But she had made slow progress into it, seeing it as a way to try and find peace inside herself with what had happened.

Giving one final cry as a small amount of the Black Magicks were ripped from her body, Willow felt the cold floor again on her back. Opening her eyes, she found herself looking up at the ceiling, the chills in her body spreading out rapidly. Already at her side, Tara rested her hands underneath the small of her back, helping her up into a sitting position. Looking down at her stomach, the red-head found the Magick symbols already having disappeared from her skin, the sign needed that part of the Magicks had been removed from her.

"Honey?" Hearing Tara's voice in her ear, she momentarily reviled in the sound of the girl's silk like tone.

"I'm fine, just cold." Getting back onto her feet with the help of the other girl, Willow saw the members of the Coven dispersing from the room, just as they always did. They had never once truly said a word to her that didn't regard the Rituals. In a way, they feared her, and she didn't blame them. The amount of Dark Magick they had removed from her was probably more than any of them had seen in any of their lifetimes. They feared her more than she feared herself.

"Come on, let's get y-you back to the room. A bath will make you feel better." Her hands wrapping around the red-head's waist, Tara helped the girl towards the door, stopping only for a moment in order to grab Willow's clothes. Silently watching from his place across the room, Giles finally turned and headed out a nearby door that led to his private study. Oblivious to the other bodies in the room, the two Wiccans exited the large room and began to make their way back down the hallway towards where their room resided. The building around them was silent, with only the sound of the girl's feet on the stone beneath them to keep them company.

* * *

As the warm water continued to rest against her freezing skin, Willow closed her eyes in an attempt to center herself amongst the chaos that had spread over her mind. The Rituals always drained her, without even the slightest room for anything otherwise. It was just one of the many side-effects to having the Black Magick ripped from her.

"How do you feel?" Tara asked, sitting on her knees beside the tub as she stared at her.

"Cold." Hearing her response, the blonde frowned.

"Y-You always do after the Rituals, honey. Besides that."

"Hurt."

"The usual things then?" Sighing, the blonde girl dipped her hand into the hot water and watched the ripples spread out across the tub until they impacted upon Willow's body.

"They were talking to me, Tare." Opening her eyes and looking at the other girl, the red-head frowned. "They wanted me to make the Coven stop."

"But you didn't. That's good. You're getting better every day." Smiling slightly, the blonde girl leaned in and kissed the other girl gently on the lips.

"Do you remember when we sang on the bridge?" Willow asked after a few minutes of silence had passed between herself and the other girl.

"Of course I do." Continuing to smile, Tara thought back to the events of that day, so close to when everything had gone wrong.

"That's when it got worse." Dropping her gaze down to the water below her, the red-head sighed. "I made you leave. Magick became more important."

"You weren't yourself. I left, I had to. Willow, you _hurt_ me."

"I know. I can't say 'I'm sorry' enough. It's hard to look at you some days. To know how stupid I was, how much I hurt you. It makes me want to_ die."_

"Sweetie, look at me." Unable to look at her love, the red-head felt the other girl's fingers curl underneath her chin in a gentle fashion. "Look at me."

"Tara, please, don't."

"_Look _at me." Finally obeying the girl's order, the Witch locked her tired eyes with Tara's blue ones. "I don't want y-you to die. I just want you to get better. It hurts to know what you did to me, I won't l-lie and say that it doesn't. But that doesn't mean that I can hate you. I tried to once, but I couldn't."

"Why? You have every reason to. After all I did to you, even after what Glory did to you..."

"I couldn't hate you because I felt so _broken _without y-you. It hurt every day that we were apart. I tried so hard not to think about you, but you were there everywhere I looked." Continuing where she had left off, the blonde girl's eyes took on a familiar sad quality. "To know what you were doing to yourself made it all worse."

"I wanted everything to go back to the way it was, but I made it worse, didn't I?"

"Y-You did. But you're trying to make things better. That's why we're here. Every time they make those patterns on you." Moving her fingers through the warm water, Tara traced the shape of the pattern onto the other girl's stomach. "You're getting closer to being what you want to be, what _we_ want you to be."

"How can you _want_ to love me after what I did to myself? I killed Warren, I killed Rack, and I nearly killed Buffy and Giles."

"Because I know who you are. The person that did those things, that's not the Willow I met and fell in love with."

"Why don't you tell me about her?" Smiling slightly, Willow tried to focus on the girl sitting beside her in order to avoid feeling the full force of the chills.

"Well, w-we met in College. It was in a Wicca group that I was a part of." Tara started, her fingers still trailing along the red-head's stomach. "And she just walked in. She was a curious girl. She wanted to do spells, and you know what everyone else did?"

"What?"

"They laughed at her. But you know what I did?"

"What did you do?" Chuckling slightly underneath her breath, Willow found the memory pouring back.

"I tried to stick up for her, because I knew that there was something different about this girl. So, I found her after the meeting. And things just went from there."

"Whatever happened to this girl?"

"I'm looking at her." As her fingers continued to move higher and higher along the red-head's stomach, Tara again leaned down and kissed the other girl on the lips once more, her tongue begging for entrance. Lifting her arms in order to link them around the blonde's neck, Willow's mind focused solely on returning the kiss that she was receiving, the thoughts and memories of the Rituals and what she had done slipping away for a single moment.

"She sounds like a lucky girl." She managed to breathe out as she momentarily pulled away.

"She is." Pushing her tongue into the other girl's open mouth, Tara could feel how cold she was, even despite the warm water that surrounded her love. Her heart threatening to erupt into pain, she pushed on with the kiss, hoping that it would distract both of them from how cold she was. Her hands finally reaching up out of the water, she buried her fingers in with the wet tangles of red-hair that normally covered Willow's face.

"You make her feel like it." Barely able to form the words amongst the other tongue in her mouth, Willow felt her heart wanting to leap out of her chest from happiness. Her wet hand disconnecting itself from its sister, the limb fell down to the other girl's breast.

"Good to know." Retracting her tongue back into her mouth, Tara rested her forehead against Willow's. "Willow, I'm...I'm not ready to take this any farther."

"I...I..." Shock setting into her voice, the Witch looked deeply into the other girl's eyes.

"Please don't be angry. It's not you, it's me."

"I...I understand."

"Soon. Now's just not the time." Feeling the girl shaking slightly underneath her grip, the blonde saw the slight hurt in her eyes. "It's nothing to do with you."

"Do...do you still love me?"

"Of course I do. How can you ask me that?"

"I...I just want to go to sleep." Starting to get back onto her feet, Willow felt the chills coming back in full force to her tired body, infecting every inch of her skin. Her mouth tingled with the memory of Tara's touch on them still so fresh in her mind.

"I talked to Giles. The Coven doesn't w-want to do another Ritual tomorrow. They want to see how you can hold up without them." The blonde girl said as she handed a towel to the red-head.

"What?" Looking up as she wrapped her body in the fluffy towel that Tara had handed her, Willow's eyes lit up with shock.

"I thought that maybe we could just...go for a walk tomorrow."

"A walk?" Unsure of what the other girl was implying, Willow felt the blonde give her a quick kiss on the cheek just as the words necessary to babble began to form on her lips.

"I'll make this up to you, I promise."

"Tare, you don't have to make anything up to me. I'm not mad at you. Trust me, I'm so far from being mad at you."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure." Returning the kiss, Willow pulled the towel tighter around her frame. "You don't owe me anything. I'm willing to take this as slowly as you want to."

"That's good." A smile coming to her face, Tara suddenly realized the numerous wet spots that had soaked through her shirt and onto her skin. "How did I know that this was going to happen?"

"What, that you got wet?" Laughing, Willow's eyes momentarily lit back up with a certain flame that her pupils had lacked for the past months. "Tara, I was sitting in a bathtub. What did you think was going to happen?"

"I don't know."

"You had to have known something!" Continuing to laugh, Willow smiled at the other girl.

"I really didn't think that would happen!" Starting to chuckle herself, Tara's lips morphed into a smile that complimented Willow's. _"Really!"_

"Uh-huh, sure you did."

"Go to bed!" Playfully shoving the red-head, Tara walked out of the room with the other girl close behind. As they entered the bedroom, the two girls continued to laugh at the jokes still fresh on their minds. The towel still wrapped around her naked body, the red-head finished drying her soaking wet hair before she let the drenched towel fall to the ground.

"You first. You're the one who got all wet over me in the tub."

"Shut up!" Laughing uncontrollably, the blonde girl closed her eyes for a single moment, and upon opening them, she found the happiness in the red-head's eyes gone.

"Willow?"

_You thought you could just get rid of us and go back to having a life with her? _

"Oh, god, they're talking to me again." Looking back at the other girl with eyes filled to the brim with fear, the Witch felt her legs beginning to feel wobbly underneath her. "Tara, they're talking to me."

"Honey, it's alright." Rushing to her girl's side as her legs fell out from underneath her, Tara wrapped her arms protectively around the red-head's rapidly chilling body. _"Ssshhh,_ they can't get you."

_She's lying to you. We're here, inside you. Can't get you? We ARE you, don't you realize that?_

"Tara, please, just talk to me." Her body trembling terribly, Willow shut her eyes in an attempt to block out the voices swimming inside her head.

"About w-what?"

"Anything, please, just say something!" Burying her head into the other girl's shoulder, the red-head waited for her voice to start to move through her ears.

"_When the wind is blowing in your face, and the whole world is on your case..." _As Tara's voice carried the gentle melody through the otherwise silent room, Willow focused on the sound of the words, gratefully that she had something to listen to other than the voices of the Magicks inside her head. _"I would offer you a warm embrace, to make you feel my love..."_

"_When the evening shadows and the stars appear, and there is no one there to dry your tears. I could hold you for a million years, to make you feel my love." _Continuing to sing, the blonde girl felt the red-head continuing to tremble underneath her embrace. Her mind continued to race to remember the right words to the song that she hadn't heard in close to a year now. She remembered much of it from a movie that she and Willow had watched numerous times together, mainly after a night of helping Buffy in some sort of way.

"_I know you haven't made your mind up yet, but I would never do you wrong. I've known it from the moment that we met, there's no doubt in my mind where you belong..."_ Her right hand gently rubbing on the lower half of the red-head's back, she kept going, simply humming the melody in places where she had forgotten the words. As the song began to wind down to its end, Tara helped Willow onto her feet, continuing to shush her as the tears in the other girl's eyes threatened to escape and run down her cheek. Helping the girl into the bed that they shared, the blonde pulled the covers over both of them. Shifting into a comfortable position against her girl's back, she whispered the last lines of the song into the other girl's ear.

"_There ain't nothing that I wouldn't do, go to the ends of the Earth for you. Make you happy, make your dreams come true. To make you feel my love..." _

* * *

His eyes scouring the ancient pages in front of him, Giles closed his eyes as he felt a small pain beginning to form along the edges of his forehead. He had been at this for days now, his attention having been grabbed by the smallest mention of a prophecy that he hadn't yet discovered. Since his 'retirement' from being Buffy's Watcher, he had devoted his full time and attention to studying the numerous ancient texts that had been gathered here within the Coven's possession. The collection rivaled even that of the Council's private archives. There were texts here that were thought to have been destroyed or lost centuries ago. It truly was a wonder to be able to touch them with one's own hands.

He had almost expected Willow to feel inclined to want to scour through the numerous volumes, but he knew better. In the months that had come to pass since their arrival after the events in Sunnydale, the girl had withdrawn from any knowledge of Magick or the Demon culture that lay just below the surface of everyday life. She hadn't completely abandoned her knowledge of what she had experienced, but he saw the hesitation in her eyes when the subject was ever brought up. Apart from the Rituals the Coven performed, she had done her best to live a semi-normal life here with Tara.

_Normal._ It was a term that seemed strange now when taken into the proper context. He had first heard the term in his younger years, even before his rebellious years as 'Ripper'. There had been countless times when he had asked his father what 'normal' meant. All the answers he had received had always in some ways foretold that it would be a trait that would elude him for all of his days. And , in a way, his father had been right. There had scarcely been a single moment in his life where he had even come close to having any relationship that didn't revolve around his duty as Watcher. Even his relationship with Jenny Calendar had been born out of his duty to guiding his Slayer, and had been taken from him in the same manner.

Setting the book down onto the table in front of him, Giles rubbed his eyes. The prophecy he had been seeking continued to elude him. He had seen the vaguest of mentions inside another text, and as a result, he had been tirelessly searching for the full version. He couldn't properly explain the drive he found within him to keep going, but whatever it was, it was strong enough to ward off the need for a proper night's sleep.

That was what he did best after all. Read and research.


	4. A Promise

**Again, thanks to those who have reviewed so far :) Its finally time to introduce the villains of the fic ;)**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy or any of the other characters. They belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.**

* * *

**Chapter 4**

As they walked along the edges of the Coven's property, Willow and Tara kept close to each other as the slightly cold wind pushed against their clothing. The day so far had been colder than what the previous days had yielded, but neither girl complained. The landscape around them was silent, save for the occasional chirping of a bird in one of the trees scattered about the land. The property upon which the Coven was based was situated amongst some of the most scenic country-side, but still remained somewhat secluded, in order to prevent wandering eyes from catching sight of any of the Witches.

Making their way across the field towards the sole tree residing on the hill, the two girls calmly sat down against the wood. Settling herself into a sitting position, the blonde looked out across the landscape.

"It's all connected." As she rested her head back against the tree offering them shade, Tara pointed out across the wide and open countryside. "From the tiniest blade of grass to the tallest tree."

"And the Goddess made everything?"

"Some believe that. It's not written down anywhere, but that's what my Mother told me." Smiling as the other girl continued to snuggle into her side, the blonde felt the wind whipping up some of her hair. "Every little choice we make, good or bad, affects everything."

"Like what I did?"

"Honey, please, don't think about that." Pulling the girl slightly closer to her, Tara felt Willow's arm wrap around her leg. "Just try to be calm."

"It's hard to be, but I'm trying." Resting her head onto the other girl's lap, Willow almost immediately felt fingers gently tracing the strands of her hair.

"Did you read anymore of the book I gave you?"

"A little. Where do you go when I'm asleep?" Closing her eyes, the red-head sighed as she felt the other girl continuing to play with her hair.

"To talk with Giles. He asks about how you are." Watching the clouds roll across the sky, Tara's thoughts momentarily drifted, going in every direction without any possible explanation to them. "He's actually surprised that you haven't looked at any of the Demon books the Coven has in their library."

"I don't want to even be close to those." Lifting her head up out of the blonde's lap, the Witch looked into the other girl's eyes. "I don't want to risk _seeing_ a spell."

"Honey, seeing them won't hurt you."

"I don't want to. Anytime I even think about it, I see what I did to you when I was, you know, all black-haired and veiny. If I put you through that again, I don't know what I'd do."

"Y-You're afraid of seeing them because you're afraid of hurting me?" Still gazing into the red-head's eyes, Tara could see the seriousness that had flooded into Willow's pupils.

"If I even do one Spell, I'm…I'm afraid that I won't be able to stop. I can't go back to what I was doing before. You saw what I did. All the time I thought I was helping people, I was only making things worse."

"Willow…"

"I ripped Buffy out of Heaven, I erased part of your memory, I could have killed Dawn, I could have killed you, Xander, Buffy, Giles…I'm the only one who did any of those things. _Me._" Finally looking away, Willow's gaze fell down to her hands. "I'm the only one who did them."

"I don't want you to blame yourself." Curling her fingers gently underneath the other girl's chin, Tara felt the slight tension that was in the air between them. Willow didn't want her to touch her, but she didn't stray away from her fingers. "That won't help you."

"How _can't _I? Tare, I know you're trying to help me, but you can't act like I didn't do anything. You want to forget it, I can tell. Don't do that to me, I don't _deserve_ to have you love me like that."

"Y-You want me to blame you, to punish you?" Still holding the red-head's chin, the blonde girl could feel how tense her girl was becoming. "Do you want me to hurt you?"

"No, because even that wouldn't be enough. Tara…" Finally looking back at the girl holding her chin, Willow sighed. "I don't know what I want anymore."

"What about me?" Perking up her eyebrow, the blonde held onto the red-head's chin.

"How can you trust me? How can you know that I won't hurt you anymore?"

"Because I won't let y-you." Having inched herself closer and closer to the other girl, Tara pressed her lips against Willow's, momentarily catching her off guard. Still, as her soft lips continued to press against her lips, the Witch found herself completely surrendering herself into the other girl's touch. With every second ticking past, she lost herself entirely in the pair of lips kissing her own. Her arms wrapping themselves around Tara's mid-section, the Witch felt a separate pair of hands working their way underneath her shirt and up her back. Just like the night before, she felt every other thought disappear from her mind as she focused solely on returning the other girl's kiss.

"I mean it. Don't blame yourself anymore." Breaking the kiss, Tara swore that she heard her girl whimper.

"Got it, more kissing please." Barely able to smile before Willow attacked her mouth, the blonde girl nevertheless returned the kiss with equal passion and vigor. Her hands still buried underneath the red-head's coat and shirt, she began to gently scratch a small pattern into the other girl's skin. Gentle enough that it wouldn't leave a scar or hurt, but with enough pressure that she would feel it. As she felt Willow's body momentarily shutter, Tara deepened the kiss, her tongue finally making its way into the other girl's mouth. The entire world around the two of them no longer mattered.

* * *

"_And the darkest of arts will be unleashed upon the Earth, separated from its true host, the Voyager." _His eyes furiously reading across the page, Giles felt his heart-beat starting to increase inside his chest. After numerous days of searching, he had finally found a particular volume that contained references to the prophecy he had been nearly obsessed with finding. _"The Voyager shall arise in the form of a savior, one who has done the most unbelievable acts of heroism, and helped others within the same regards. But from the inside she shall rot, and in the time of extreme Darkness, the Power hidden inside her shall break away from their prison, and engulf the world into pure darkness."_

"Good lord." Unable to tear his eyes away from the ancient and yellowed papers he held in his hands, the Watcher's mind flashed with the countless interpretations of what the short paragraph could mean. He already knew from experience how things could be misinterpreted or taken into a different light that could lead him off into an entirely different direction. He had already made that single mistake once, and it had very nearly cost Buffy her life. He knew deep inside himself that he wouldn't be able to live with himself if she fell because of a simple mistake that he had made.

Pressing on with the reading, Giles found his body renewed with strength as his curiosity and concern continued to grow.

* * *

As she paced around the room in a cold sweat, Amy Madison could feel every single wave of pain that flowed through her skin and senses. It had come before, but never in as much intensity as what had been happening for almost an hour now. Whatever pleasure she had experienced from the Magicks Rack had poured into her were meaningless now when compared to the burning pain that scorched through her skin.

"Poor little Amy." Turning her head, the girl could see another figure standing in the corner of her room, the shadows seemingly engulfing the woman's figure.

"Who are you?" The Witch managed to push out of her lips before the cold inside her body made her words jumble together.

"You don't recognize me?" Stepping out of the shadows, the figure smiled as the unmistakable image of shock spread across the teenager's face.

"Miss Calendar?" Taking a step back, Amy could scarcely believe what she was seeing. She had hallucinated once or twice before now, when the effects of Rack's Dark Magick had finally begun to wear out of her body, but this was…_different._

"In a way, that's me. Trust me, you wouldn't like what I really look like." As the figure made her way across the room towards the Witch, she continued to smile, the gesture nearly sending shivers of fear down Amy's spine. "So, I figured you'd enjoy seeing someone you knew. If you don't like it, I could change into something else."

"Wha…What the hell are you talking about?"

"You should know." In the blink of an eye, the figure of Jenny Calendar had changed into that of Buffy Summers. "After all, you're the one who was into the Dark Magicks, dragging Willow down farther into it."

"Buffy?"

"Somewhat. Whoever you feel more comfortable talking to." Stopping in the center of the room, the form's smile dropped from her face. "Tell me, Amy, how does it feel to know that you don't have anyone who cares about you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, don't give me that. You scarcely had any friends _before_ you turned yourself into a rodent. And now, you're all alone here, aren't you? Willow kicked you out once she was done with you. Just. Like. That." As it finished it's sentence, the embodiment snapped its fingers. "Rather sad, isn't it?"

"So what, you're here to mock me? Can't say that I'm impressed."

"Mock? No, I'm here for something else." Changing forms into that of a young man that the Witch had never seen before, the entity actually started to chuckle underneath its non-existent breath. "I want to help you."

"Help me with what? Get over withdrawal? Thanks, but no thanks." Lying herself down onto the bed at her side, Amy kept her eyes on the entity still walking around her room.

"No, I know what you want to do. I can feel all that anger you've got hidden inside there. Just like a woman would have, ya know, cause you are one. Kinda useless unless you direct that anger at someone you hate."

"And who exactly do I hate?"

"Willow." Stopping in its tracks, the entity smiled at her. "You know, dumb little red-headed Witch that likes to screw things up?"

"I take it that she made you mad?"

"Oh well, you know, could have something to do with the fact that she _SKINNED_ me alive!" There was genuine anger behind what the entity was saying, even if it wasn't its own. "But then again, that's not why we're here."

"How exactly do I factor into all of this?"

"Simple. You've got power, not as much as Willow does, but enough to hurt her." Taking a step towards her, the entity pointed at the girl's hands. "There's power in those hands, after all, you changed yourself into a rat, didn't you?"

"I guess…Still, besides hurting Willow, what exactly am I going to gain out of this?"

"For one thing, you can do something _useful_ for once."

"Tell. Me. What." Letting a little bit of anger sink into her tone, Amy narrowed her eyes at the 'ghost' standing in front of her.

"Power. Do you know exactly how much Dark Magick is inside that little bitch?" There was enough anger and hatred in the spirit's voice that it actually made Amy felt slightly nervous, if only for the faintest of seconds. "You know how much strength that Power is taking out of her every day?"

"Where is she?"

"The Slayer and her Watcher slipped her out of the country. And wherever she is, I can't find her because of even stronger Magicks."

"You know, you keep talking about me hurting her, but you won't tell me how I'm supposed to do that." Rolling her eyes, the Witch wanted nothing more than for the spirit to explain to her what it was that she had to do. The more she thought about what the entity had proposed, the more her Magick damaged mind began to make sense of what was going on. "Tell me."

"Spells. Seem simple enough for you?"

"That's all you have to offer? Nothing specific?"

"When I find her, I'll tell you more. Till then, just try to keep yourself from _completely _falling apart." Stepping back, the entity seemingly collapsed onto itself, disappearing from the room in a small explosion of light. Looking around the room, Amy once again found herself totally alone, with the effects of the withdrawal continuing to course through her skin. _Did that thing make it all stop…?_

Lying back down on the bed, the teenager closed her eyes and again tried to ignore the pain.

* * *

"Buffy?" As she heard the unmistakable voice on the other end of the phone, Buffy felt her heart skip a few beats inside her chest. It brought back memories of a time that seemed decades ago now, but in a way, still seemed so fresh in her mind.

"Angel?"

"Hey…" It almost made her smile to hear the slight awkwardness in the vampire's voice. The last time she had seen him face to face, she had been able to notice the difference in the way the ensouled vampire had carried himself. In many ways, they had both changed since they had left each other that fateful day after Graduation and the battle with the Mayor.

"What's up?"

"Listen, I've got some information that you probably want." _Already getting down to business. Maybe he hasn't changed as much as I thought…_

"Which is?" As she leaned against the wall, the receiver still held up to her ear, Buffy felt a little relieved that there was currently no-one else in the house. If Dawn even got the faintest word that Angel had called, she wouldn't hear the end of it. Despite the many ways that the younger girl had matured over the past months, she still held some of the traits that she had had since her transformation into a human.

"There's an apocalypse coming."

"Isn't there always. We've averted how many by now?"

"This is bigger. I've got Wesley looking into it, but I don't have that much to offer at this point."

"What have you got then? I mean, I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that this isn't just because you wanted to hear my voice."

"Something's coming. Something big. Bigger than anything either of us has seen before."

"So it's something taller than a building?"

"Buffy, be serious." _Alright, there's that seriousness that I know…_

"Alright, all joking aside, what should I expect? Giant snake? Hellgod? Secret Government group looking to cash in on Slaying?"

"I'm still trying to get something positive on that. All I can say is that it's something that you won't be able to fight directly and by yourself."

"Once again, the usual?"

"The usual."

* * *

"Tara, I have something serious that I need to tell you." Pulling herself away from the other girl's touch with the toughest of internal struggles, Willow looked deeply into Tara's blue eyes. "And by serious, I mean that we have to stop kissing for a few minutes so I can talk."

"Alright…" Giving a pout for the faintest of seconds, the blonde girl nevertheless fell silent as she waited for the red-head to continue.

"I…I've been nothing but a burden to you since we got here. And I don't want to be that anymore."

"Honey, you haven't been a burden to me…"

"Please, let me finish. " Closing her eyes for a moment in order to recollect her words and thoughts, Willow opened them and once again looked into the other girl's eyes. "You didn't have to come with me, you could have easily just let Giles take me, and forget that I ever existed. But you didn't. You came with me, and you've done everything you can to help me. You've comforted me, you've taught me about Wicca, and you've loved me, even when I didn't think you would."

Taking a deep breath, the red-head continued with what she had been meaning to say.

"Tara, I want to promise you something. I'm not ever going to use Magick again."

"Willow, y-you don't have to do that, you're…"

"I want to promise you that. Don't try to make me change my mind." Taking the other girl's hand into her own, the red-head gently caressed the girl's palm with her thumb. "Please, accept my promise."

"I…"

"Tara Maclay, I promise that, from this day forward, I won't use Magick for anything, neither defensive, offensive, or for something that seems good. I'm done using it. I lived for sixteen years without doing a single spell, and I can go back to that."

"Are y-you sure?"

"I've never been more sure about anything in my life…except you." Reaching up with her other hand, Willow pushed a few strands of the blonde's hair out of her face, the wind having pushed them there moments earlier. "Do…do you accept it?"

"I do." Smiling, the red-head's thumb continued to move in a circular motion atop the other girl's palm.

"Thank you." As she returned the smile, the blonde girl leaned in and kissed her forehead.

"You're welcome." Continuing to drift down the red-head's face, Tara pressed her lips fully against Willow's, resuming the kiss that they had been sharing only minutes before. Willingly opening her lips, the red-head allowed the other girl's tongue entry into her mouth. Entwining her fingers with Tara's, her remaining hand momentarily played with the girl's blonde hair before snaking its way underneath her jacket. As her cold hand touched Tara's warm skin, she heard the other girl gasp, despite still having her tongue buried inside her love's mouth.

Still pouring every shred of her concentration into the kiss, Tara wrapped her arms around the red-head's back, the other girl's hand still moving around on the inside of her jacket. Inside her chest, she felt her heart-beat continually increasing in an excited manner. Part of her had longed to have the other girl touch her again like she had once done so long ago. Willow had been so afraid of hurting her that she had almost entirely refrained from even giving her the faintest of touches. As she felt the girl's hand continuing to explore her bare skin, it made things seem normal once more.

* * *

"_Willow, look at me." Her body still curled in on itself from the massive amounts of pain coursing through her system, the red-head kept her eyes firmly closed. The amount of Black Magicks inside her felt somewhat lighter, but the black mass that stuck to her insides continued to stay firmly rooted to their places, their taunts still floating through her head._

"_Hurts…" Barely able to get the word out of her mouth, Willow felt a pair of warm hands on her freezing body. The difference in temperature actually made her shiver even more, once she realized how cold she truly was. The word 'withdrawal' flew through her mind for a split second before it was completely and utterly consumed by the Black Magicks' taunts and jeers. _

"_Sweetie, please, look at me." Her hands still on the other girl, Tara felt her heart threatening to break inside her body. That's all that she had been able to feel since they had left Sunnydale a mere month ago. It hurt to see what her girl had done to herself, what she had taken into her system in an attempt to deal with the thought of possibly living without her. To see what the girl had become, with pure black clothing, hair, and eyes, it hurt her even worse than it had to leave her._

"_It hurts…" As she opened her eyes, Willow saw the other girl looking at her as she continued to kneel beside the bed. "Why does it hurt this much?"_

"_I don't know." The urge to call herself a liar snuck into the blonde's mind, even as the words left her lips and floated into the red-head's ears. "Should I go get Giles?"_

"_No, he doesn't want to look at me." _

"_Honey…" As she started to return to her full height, the girl found the red-head's hands reaching out and grabbing her clothing._

"_No, don't leave, please, don't leave me again." There were tears freely falling down her cheeks now as she spoke. "God, please don't leave me."_

"_Willow, it's alright." Resting her hands atop the other girl's shaking ones, Tara returned to her kneeling position at her side. "What do you mean leave you…oh…"_

"_It hurts to think that you left me." As the words left her lips, Willow's tone sounded nothing like her once bright and cheery voice. There was almost nothing inside her now but hurt and pain. "Tried to bury it…"_

"_Don't talk anymore, just try to rest." Reaching out, she gently laid her warm hand against the other girl's cold cheek. "Just rest."_

_As she looked at the other girl lying on her side, the red-head's body freezing even despite the warm sheets and pajamas that she had surrounded herself with, Tara could see how damaged and blackened her aura was. The normal bright light that had usually laid scattered across every inch of her girl's skin was now nothing but a blackened outline. It was as if she had been contaminated by something._

"_Just rest."_


	5. Memory

**Big thanks for all of the reviews on the last chapter :) All of you are awesome, and I'm glad that you're enjoying the fic so far :)**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy or any of the other characters. They belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

As she pulled the red-sheets over top of her pajama clad body, Willow smiled as Tara slipped in beside her, the blonde girl's form connecting with her own almost instantly.

"I had fun today." She said as she reached over and turned out the light that lay beside the bed itself. "Thank you."

"Willow, w-what you promised to me today…that means a lot to me."

"I mean it, Tare, I don't want to use Magick ever again. I know that's how we met, but I can't go back to hurting you." Turning around, the red-head laid her head gently against Tara's forehead. "I won't do that to you ever again."

"I believe you." As she gave the girl a quick kiss, Tara smiled. "Come on, go to sleep. You need to be rested tomorrow."

"I know." Sighing, Willow closed her own eyes. "The Rituals start again tomorrow."

"You'll be alright." Their foreheads still touching, the two girls already knew what would come tomorrow after the Coven had completed yet another Ritual. And strangely…they weren't afraid anymore. The effects of removing the Black Magicks from Willow had begun to dull with each repeated day, and eventually, it would taper off completely, in a sense.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

* * *

"Hecate, heed my call." As she sat in the circle surrounded by lit candles, Amy felt the slightly familiar tug of Magicks working through her withdrawal-torn body. She hadn't been able to completely cast a spell for a number of months now, but with the entity looking on behind her, she felt better than she had for months. "Show me the spirit of Willow Rosenberg."

As she waited for a response, the teenager looked down at the map that she had laid out in front of her, the various continents just barely able to be seen in the dim lighting that was generated by the candles. Casting a tracking spells shouldn't have taken too much out of her, but she still felt somewhat exhausted.

"You're out of practice."

"Trying to concentrate here."

"Whatever, just try to hurry up. I'm getting kinda bored over here." Sighing in Buffy Summer's voice, the First nevertheless continued to watch the Witch as she focused on the spell. This was taking longer than it had expected. It had seen many Witches in its time, but never had it seen one take this long in performing such a simple spell.

"Hecate, show me the spirit of that who has scorned you with her Black Magick." Her eyes once again closed, Amy felt the Magicks inside her continuing to grow stronger with each passing second. "Show me where Willow is."

Within the blink of an eye, the flame from one of the candles shot out from the wick and danced across the map, the paper beneath it blackening slightly, but refusing to set the material ablaze. It's interest perked, the First focused all of its attention on the map situated in front of the girl. As the flame hovered over all the continents, both sets of eyes within the room watched its every move.

"Greenland?" Amy said just as the flame hovered over the drawing on the map for a split second before it moved to Africa, the United States, Germany, and South America.

"It's making a pentagram."

"Something's protecting her." As the First heard the girl's reply, it rolled its eyes.

"Way to state the obvious." Changing its form once more into that of Warren, it walked around the drawn circle and candles. "Should have done it myself. Looks like you screwed it up, just like you always do."

"Shut up. This isn't my fault." Getting back onto her feet, Amy ignored the candles as they extinguished themselves simultaneously. "I can't do anything if something is hiding her from other forms of Magick."

"That's what they all say. We just need to try harder." Giving the girl one last glance, the First smiled. "Start looking things up."

"Why can't you just tell me what I need to do?" As the entity disappeared, Amy found herself alone in the room, with the smell of extinguished candles filling her nostrils. Stepping out of the circle, she reached underneath her bed and removed the numerous Magick books that she had managed to lift from the numerous stores scattered outside of town. She had barely been back in Sunnydale for a month or so now, but she found it to be a changed place from the town she had stood in only months ago, or even years ago, if you added the time she had spent as a rat inside the Summers' house.

As she started to read through the aged pages, she found herself beginning to hate Willow even more.

* * *

"So, Giles, do you know anything about this apocalypse that we might be having anytime soon?"

"I'm afraid not. The information that Angel gave you does help matters, but I'm afraid I have nothing else to add."

"So, we're back to square one." Sighing, Buffy switched the receiver to her other ear. "It really _is_ the usual situation then. And considering that we're kinda scattered right now, we're a vulnerable."

"We should give thought to possibly regrouping once we find out more information about this apocalypse that Angel informed you about." His fingers still scanning the open pages in front of him, the former Watcher found himself slipping into the persona of a younger him. "I shall let you know if I discover any more information."

"Alright thanks…how are Willow and Tara doing?"

"Fine." Leaning back into his chair, Giles removed his glasses and rubbed his tired eyes for a moment. "Willow is making excellent progress."

"That's what you say every time. How close is she to being able to come back?"

"I can't say. These things are matters of time that can't be estimated, Buffy."

"Alright, alright. Don't get your English trousers in a bunch. How's Tara?" Buffy laughed, the sound of her joy making the man smile slightly.

"Again, fine. She's been teaching Willow in all matters regarded with becoming a Wiccan."

"Wait…you're saying Tara is teaching her about Magick? Giles, are you crazy?"

"Not that sort of Magick, Buffy. Being a Wiccan is largely dependent on a connection to nature. The way Tara had been teaching her, it's completely independent from Magick. Willow hasn't shown the faintest interest in Magick since our arrival months ago."

"Oh…that's good. Giles, when she and Tara left, we all were in pretty bad shape, you especially." As she spoke into the receiver, Buffy's mind came to life with memories of what the aftermath of Willow's attempted apocalypse had been like.

* * *

_As they entered the house, Tara could still feel Willow's stone-like grip through her clothing, the other girl completely ignoring the blood-stains that lay splattered across the blue shirt she was holding onto. Her own clothing still effectively blackened from the Dark Magicks she had absorbed, the red-head's tears had finally stopped, although dry heaves that the blonde could tell were supposed to be sobs still escaped from her mouth. Inside the house, everything was almost deathly silent, the atmosphere that the air held sending shivers down both girls' spines. _

"_Buff? Dawn?" As he shouted out into the bowels of the house, Xander found himself hearing nothing but the slight echoing of his own voice. _

"_Are they not home?" _

"_Last time I saw them, they were kinda in the middle of a giant hole."_

"_Oh god, I'm sorry, I'msorry, I'msorry." At the mere mention of the two Summers girls, Willow's sobs resumed even harder than they had been before. Her arm still wrapped around the red-head, Tara shushed her before looking back at Xander._

"_Do y-you think they got out?"_

"_I'm sure they did. They probably just had a little trouble getting back here." Looking down at the crying red-head that was still clinging to the blonde, Xander forced himself to look away. "Maybe I should go look for them. Anya and Giles are still out there too." _

_Again, the mere mention of the two Scoobies' names brought the Witch to the brink of new tears. Coughing as her drained body found itself finally running out of water, Willow's legs threatened to fall out from under her. Looking down at the distressed girl, Tara could see the clothing that she wore was beginning to return to their normal colors as a final tear fell from the girl's eye._

"_Xander, go look for them. I'll look after Willow." Only giving a simple nod as an answer, the teenager rushed past the two girls and out the door. _

"_Willow, honey, listen to me. It's alright." Helping the other girl into the kitchen, the blonde gently eased her down into an open chair. "Please, stop crying."_

"_I…tried…to kill Buffy…Giles…you…I'msorry." Barely able to speak in between the dry sobs that continued to course out of her body, Willow fingers remained gripped on the other girl's shirt. "Tara, I'm sorry…"_

"_Sssshhh, just stop crying. It's alright, I'm alright."_

"_Couldn't stop myself…thought you were gone…" The red-head's eyes no longer looking at her, Tara tried to step away for a moment, but found the other girl's grip to be unbreakable._

"_I'm going to get you a glass of water, I'll be right back." Her dirty fingers finally letting go of the blonde's shirt, Willow buried her face into her hands, the sound of her dry sobs continuing to fill the room. As she rushed to the sink and grabbed the nearest glass she could find, Tara found her arm shaking the entire time she held the glass underneath the faucet. Behind her, she could hear the other girl starting to cough almost violently. The wound on her shoulder was still bleeding slightly, the bandages covering the gunshot wound showing its fair share of red blood. The three cuts on her cheek had already sealed over, seemingly having disappeared as soon as Willow's hair had returned to its normal shade of red._

_As she returned to where the crying red-head was sitting, Tara handed her the filled glass._

"_Willow, here, drink this. It'll make you stop coughing." Taking the glass from the other girl, Willow drank it quickly before shakily setting it down on the table beside her. "Do you feel any better?"_

"_N-no." Her cheeks still stained with tears, the Witch could barely look at the other girl. "I'm sorry."_

"_Sweetie, stop staying that. I'm alright, you didn't hurt me."_

"_You were bleeding." Reaching up slowly, she touched the closed scratches on the blonde's cheek. "I made you bleed."_

"_That wasn't y-you, you were under something's control…"_

"_No, it was me, I didn't want to believe that you were alive, that I had killed someone for nothing…" A fresh stream of tears began to fall down the girl's face. "Oh my god, I really killed him…"_

"_You're dirty." Taking the red-head's hands into her own, Tara looked at the mixture of dirt and blood that the girl's skin held. _

"_I know. I feel dirty."_

"_Not like that." Shaking her head slightly, Tara helped the other girl onto her feet. "Come on."_

"_Where are we going?" At the mere mention of going somewhere, Willow's eyes lit up with fear. "Tara, I don't want to go back out there. Buffy's going to kill me." _

"_Willow, y-you're filthy. I'm going to clean you up." Leading the hesitant girl up the stairs, the blonde could feel how much the other girl was trembling. As they reached the top of the stairs, her trembling only continued to worsen as she caught sight of the still open door to the bedroom that the two of them shared. Able to be seen only slightly was a window, its glass broken around the form of a bullet hole._

"_No, I can't go in there!" Turning and attempting to run down the stairs, the red-head felt Tara's hand continuing to hold onto her._

"_Willow, it's alright! W-We're not going in there, I promise." Holding onto the other girl, the blonde could see the flash of complete and total fear that Willow's eyes held. "Come on, we're not going into the room. I just want to clean you up."_

"_P-p-promise?" As she heard the girl speak, Tara couldn't help but feel like she was looking at a virtual mirror of herself at a younger age. The stutter and fear were all there. _

"_I promise. Please, just let me help you." Giving only a nod, the red-head allowed the other girl to pull her into the bathroom. Letting go of her for a split second, the blonde shut the door and turned on the water inside the shower. As the warm water began to spray through the tub, the sound of it impacting gently on the shower curtain echoed through the room. _

"_Willow?" Looking up from her still wet cheeks and eyes, the red-headed Witch looked so fragile that, for a single moment, Tara was afraid to touch her. "Come on, let's get you undressed."_

_As her fingers slipped underneath the girl's blood-stained white shirt, the blonde girl once again could feel the way the girl's body was trembling. As she looked at the red-head's tear-stained face, she could still see the faint outline of blackened veins, although their color had dramatically faded over the course of the past hour. Slowly pulling the article of clothing off of the girl, Tara saw no further signs of any visible veins across the other girl's body. _

"_I'm going to die." Looking down at the tiled floor, Willow's eyes remained glued to the surface as the other girl continued to help her undress. "I told Anya I wasn't coming back."_

"_Willow, y-you are not going to die. We're going to help you." Pulling the girl's remaining shoe off, the blonde looked up at her love. "_I'm _going to help you."_

"_Please kill me. Tara, please, just end me, Buffy's going to do it anyway." As the river of tears once again began to pour down her cheeks, Willow truly looked as though she was broken. "Just kill me…"_

"_No. You're not going to die." Leading the girl over to the still running shower, Tara took a moment in order to pull off some of her own blood-stained clothing. Willow had nothing else on by now, a product of their love-making two nights ago. They had dressed in such a hurry that they had decided to forgo the usual articles of underwear. _

"_I want you to kill me, please…" As she pulled off her shoes, Tara felt her heart break for the umpteenth time in the past few hours. Her girl was begging her to _kill_ her, simply to end all the pain that had collected inside her. Quickly dispensing with the rest of her garments, despite the obvious pain that her wound created, the blonde gathered the other girl into her arms and pulled the shower curtain aside. As the warm water hit her skin, Willow gasped for a single second before she fell silent. _

"_I'm just going to sit down, come on, nice and easy." Again only giving a nod, the red-head allowed the other girl to help her down into a sitting position on the floor of the tub. _

"_Tara, I killed him…"_

"_Ssshhh, that's enough. We're going to deal with it later. Just calm down." Kissing the other girl's cheek, Tara let the warm water run down her face as she moved Willow slightly in order to let the spray of water douse the girl's fiery red-hair. "No more crying."_

_Minutes passed by, and as she felt Willow's trembles beginning to taper off, the blonde rested her head on the other girl's shoulder. _

"_You're going to leave me. Just like you did before." As the sentence left the girl's lips, Tara felt a small wave of shock course through her for a few moments. _

"_No, I'm not. I shouldn't have done that, I should have stayed and helped you…"_

"_No, you made me get better. Amy would have hurt you." _

"_Amy the rat?" Perking her eyebrows, the blonde waited for the girl to answer her question._

"_I turned her back, the night after you left. I needed someone to talk to." The warm water still landing on her face, Willow moved some of her soaking wet hair out of her face only to have it fall back into place within seconds. "I was lonely."_

"_Baby, I'm so sorry. I knew you were hurting, but I couldn't come back." Her head still resting on the red-head's shoulder, Tara kissed her cheek. "I'm so sorry." _

"_I'm the one that hurt you, I hurt everyone around me. It's not your fault." Reaching past the other girl's body, the blonde turned off the water, leaving the two of them sitting on the floor of tub._

"_That's enough, come on, let's get you into some warm clothes." Helping the other girl onto her feet once more, Tara grabbed one of the towels hanging on the rack beside her, and wrapped it around the red-head's body. Relinquishing her touch on her for only a moment in order to grab a towel for herself, she heard nothing else echoing through the still silent house. She hoped that Xander found Buffy and the others, despite the obvious anger that she knew the others would feel towards the broken girl she was holding. If anything, the blonde felt that she herself held some of the blame for what had happened._

"_Honey, we're going into the room. I'm not going to let go of you, alright?"_

"_D-Don't make me g-g-go in there." Flinching away from the other girl's gaze, Willow weakly pulled the towel tighter around herself. "P-Please."_

"_Willow, it's alright. I won't let anything hurt you." _

"_Tara, please…"_

"_Do y-you trust me?" Only nodding in response, the red-head felt the other girl wrap her arm around her waist. "Then don't be afraid. It's only us. There's no one else in the house..."_

"_I hurt Buffy and Dawn…"_

"_I know you did honey, but we'll deal with it. Giles can help you." _

"_Tara?" As the Slayer's voice rang out through the house, Tara felt Willow's body tense under her grip._

"_Buffy…" Her eyes lighting up with fear, the red-head virtually froze in her place. _

"_Willow, I won't let her hurt you. Just stay here." _

"_Tara…" As she cleared the last step, the Slayer caught sight of the two girls, and words ceased to come from her mouth._

"_Buffy, listen to me." Already sensing how changed the other girl's aura was, Tara gently pushed Willow behind her. "The Magicks aren't in control of her anymore."_

"_Is this how it goes then, Willow?" Ignoring what the blonde had said, Buffy took a few steps towards the red-head. "You try to kill all of us, and you think that you can just hide from us?" _

"_Buffy, I'm sorry…" _

"_You tried to_ kill_ me, Willow. You tried to kill _all_ of us. Just because you're not black and veiny anymore, how do we know that you're not going to try that again?!"_

"_Buffy, stop it." Strengthening her resolve as she felt the other girl shaking beneath her grip, Tara locked eyes with the Slayer. "She's not evil anymore. She's scared." _

"_Tara, do you realize what she did to all of us? She nearly killed Giles and…"_

"_That w-wasn't her, Buffy. The Dark Magicks took over her." _

"_You can't possibly expect me to…"_

"_Buffy, I w-was shot. She thought I was dead. Do you realize what that did to her?" _

"_Do you realize what _she_ did to _us?_ She nearly killed Giles, and she sure as hell tried to do the same to me and Dawn!"_

"_Y-You do crazy things when you're in love." With Willow still cowering behind her, Tara continued to refuse the Slayer past her. "Just let her be."_

"_Tara…"_

"_No, let me deal with it." Her eyes showing no room for any sort of compromise, the blonde girl watched as Buffy finally began to back away without any further word. As the Slayer disappeared from sight, Tara turned back towards the girl cowering behind her. Her expression almost instantly softening, she took the other girl's hand into her own. "It's alright."_

"_She wants to kill me." _

"_She's just angry, honey, she doesn't want to kill you."_

"_She does. You h-heard her." Closing her eyes as she still pressed herself into the corner behind her, Willow felt the blonde in front of her preventing her from falling down to her knees. "Oh god, she wants to kill me."_

"_That's enough, come on, you need rest." As she began to slowly lead the red-head into the nearby bed-room, Tara couldn't even begin to guess what was to come._

* * *

"Yes, she has made drastic improvement since the aftermath of the events there."

"Giles, do…do you think that, with the threat of an apocalypse being already out there waiting to bang on the door, Willow might have to use Magick again?"

"I pray that it doesn't come to that."

"I kinda agree with you on that one." Switching the receiver of the phone to her other ear, Buffy heard Dawn's voice calling out to her from the top of the stairs. "Giles, I have to go. Dawn's got to go to school. I'll call you later."

"Indeed. I shall try to procure any more information about what it is that we might be facing. Any references I've found so far has been vague and unreliable."

"Well, you do that. If we're going to be fighting anything, I'd like to know what kind of weapon I should use."


	6. Decision

**As usual, thank all of you for the reviews! :D**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy or any of the characters. They belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. **

* * *

**Chapter 6**

As the sun began to slip past the closed curtains that covered the window, Willow murmured something and turned over onto her side.

"It's too early." Reaching out with her hand, she tried to find the other body in the bed, her body craving the feeling of her fingertips on the other girl's skin. But as she felt nothing but the somewhat cool sheets beneath her, she furrowed her brow and opened her eyes. Her pupils struggling to adjust to the dim lighting in the room, apart from the single ray of sunlight peering in through the window, the red-head lifted her head from the pillow that had kept it comforted for the past hours, and looked around the room. "Tara?"

Upon hearing no response, the Witch pushed the covers atop her aside and groggily got back onto her feet. The room around her was completely silent. Inside, Willow didn't quite feel right not knowing where the other girl had gone. Pulling on one of the larger flannel shirts that was lying around the room, she wrapped it around her shoulders in an attempt to cover herself, just in case Giles or one of the Coven had decided to come visit herself or Tara. The effort was more so in Giles' case, considering that the Coven had never once spoken to her outside of the Rituals. She could tell that they were somewhat afraid of her, for what reason, she couldn't say, especially considering the vow that she had made to herself and Tara that she wouldn't use Magick ever again.

"Tara? Baby?" As she called out the other girl's name one more time, the red-head opened the door that separate the other rooms from the bedroom, and found an overwhelming amount of light greeting her in response. Shielding her eyes, the girl nevertheless continued on into the room.

"Ta-" The beginning of the other girl's name had barely passed her lips before she caught sight of the blonde girl asleep on a nearby chair, a book folded against her chest with her eyes closed in a calm expression of peace. Seeing her girl asleep, Willow smiled and carefully removed the book from Tara's chest before placing it on a nearby table. A playful thought coming into her mind, she quietly made her way around the side of the chair and then laid herself down across the other girl's lap, her arms wrapping around the blonde's neck.

"Wha-" As she was brought out of her sleep, Tara looked around somewhat frantically before seeing a pair of green eyes only inches away from her own.

"Morning." Smiling, the red-head gave the other girl a quick kiss on her lips before resting her head against the blonde's shoulder.

"W-What time is it?"

"Morning. No clocks here, remember?" Burying her head into the other girl's shoulder, Willow smiled. "Which means that there's no need for you to get up."

"You're in a playful mood today." Stating the obvious, the blonde rested her head against the other girl's red-hair.

"Maybe…"

"Remember, you have to go through the Ritual tonight." Frowning, Tara wished that she could tell her girl something else.

"I know, but I'm ready for them." Smiling, Willow snuggled her head just a little bit more into the other girl's shoulder. "Besides, I could always get more kisses from you afterwards."

"You're a doofus." Tara snorted in response.

"You love it." Lifting her head slightly, the red-head gave the other girl a quick kiss on the cheek. "Don't lie."

"Am I…interrupting anything?" Looking away from each other, the two Wiccans found Giles standing in the doorway to the small 'apartment' that they shared.

"No…nothing at all." Untangling her arms from around Tara's neck, Willow frowned slightly as she got back onto her feet. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing really, it just seems that we might have another apocalypse in our midst."

_"What?!"_ Her eyes momentarily growing large with shock, the red-head's gaze fell back to Tara, whose face showed a similar expression.

"At least, that's what I seem to have discovered in my digestion of the Coven's library." Leaning himself against the door-frame, the former Watcher appeared to be holding something back. "I've already informed Buffy of my discoveries, and it seems that Angel found mentions of the same prophecy of which we're dealing with."

"Y-You're not telling us something..." Getting out of the chair, Tara eyed the man curiously.

"I, um, I'm afraid that I have some bad news." Turning towards Willow, the man frowned slightly. "I want you to return to Sunnydale."

"You w-want her to do _what?"_ As her voice audible broke, Tara pulled Willow closer to her. "Giles, you can't be serious!"

"I'm afraid that I am. Tara, you must realize that the true gravity of the situation yet to come. The prophecies all point towards a single event that will purge the Earth of the human race once and for all eternity. We are speaking of a fight against true Evil." The Watcher's gaze never once flinched as he stared at the women in front of him. "Both of you will be needed when that fight arrives."

"Giles, I…I can't." Finally speaking up for herself, Willow could feel Tara's fingers sinking through her clothing as the other girl continued to hold her tight. "I can't help."

"But you can. The Black Magicks you absorbed may still be a risk, but your command of Magick in the general sense will be needed, and could be of great value to Buffy and the others."

"No, it won't, and I can't. I swore never to use it again. I'm not just gonna risk going all black and veiny again over trying to do a spell."

"You did _what?"_ As he stared back at the two girls in front of him, Giles could scarcely believe what he had just heard.

"I promised her that I wouldn't use Magick ever again. I'm done with it."

"Willow, this isn't something as simple as refusing to learn something, or refusing to eat. What you have inside you, it's part of who you are. You can't deny a part of yourself."

"Don't try to talk me out of this. I'm done."

"You've heard my concerns that you may never be truly free from…"

"Giles. Stop." Holding up her hand, Willow interrupted the Watcher. "I'm not going. Buffy doesn't need me. She'd be better off not having my Magicks there at all. It's not part of who I am. It wasn't once. I lived without using it for sixteen years. I can do that again." As she squeezed Tara's hand, the red-head closed her eyes for a moment. "I _have_ to."

"You've truly made up your mind about this, haven't you?"

"Yep, mind making up already done." Shaking her head slightly, the former Witch waited for Giles to reply with some smartalec British form of sarcasm.

"I guess that there's nothing left to say on the matter then. I certainly can't force you to go to Buffy's aid when the time comes."

"Giles. You're going to try and _guilt trip_ me?"

"No, I would never do such a thing."

"Don't lie to me." For a moment, a shred of anger began to sink into her voice, but upon realizing it, the former Witch clamped down on it, managing to shut out the Magicks for a key moment. "Giles, I can't do it. I'm sorry."

"The choice is entirely-" The older man started before the two Wiccans turned angry glares on him.

"We know. It's our choice." Their angry expressions still fixed upon him, Giles sighed and left the room, shutting the door behind him in a quiet and gentle manner.

"Willow…" Tara started before the other girl interrupted her.

"Tara, I'm not going." Smiling at the blonde, Willow squeezed the hand holding her slightly. "I'm not going back until we know that I won't hurt anyone."

* * *

"Are you sure this is going to work?" As she continued to pace around her room, Amy saw the entity roll its eyes at her.

"'_Are you sure?' 'Are you sure?' _Give it a rest, why don't you?" As the sound of Buffy Summer's voices came streaming out to her, the Witch felt a small desire to throw something at the not-quite-a-spirit. But knowing that it would do little if to damage her floor, she restrained herself.

"Whatever, just do it."

"Working your way into someone's dreams isn't as simple as doing one of your little hocus pocus spells. This takes time."

"Doesn't mean that you can't be a little quicker about it." Finally ceasing her pacing, the Witch plopped herself down on the nearby bed. "Because I'd kinda like to get more into the getting Power and revenge thing."

"Do the words 'time' and 'patience' mean anything to you?"

* * *

"_So, did you really think you would be able to just stop?" As she looked all around, Willow felt nothing inside her but pure fear. The area upon which she was standing seemingly had taken on a threatening and dark quality that it had been lacking only minutes earlier. "Ah, such a strong sense of false innocence amongst the darkness."_

"_Hello?" Still searching the landscape around her, the red-head felt strange, as if something had been removed from her mind, leaving it in a daze that she couldn't completely recover from._

"_Because you know, you did _kill_ me." As she turned around, Willow felt a sharp pain in her wrists as a man wrapped his fingers around them, forcing her to look up into his eyes. Her mind unable to believe who was standing in front of her, she couldn't look away._

"_Warren?!"_

"_That's right, you dumb little bitch. You don't want to believe that you killed me, don't you? I was begging for my life, and you looked at me, do you even remember what you said to me?"_

"_No, no, you're not here…"_

"_Answer me you cunt! What did you say to me?!"_

"_Let go of me!" Struggling against Warren's grip, the red-head only felt more pain flow through her body as he kept crushing her wrists. _

"_You said 'bored now', didn't you? And then you killed me. You ripped the skin right off of my body, and burned me into nothing but ash."_

"_I'm sorry!" As she started to apologize, Willow cried out as Warren only tightened his grip on her wrists._

"_Don't apologize to me!" The intensity of the man's grip on her wrists still increasing, the former Witch dropped to her knees as he finally relinquished his grip on her. Looking up at him, Willow's eyes widened as she saw a different figure than the one that had been there not even seconds before._

"_Hello again, Strawberry." As Rack looked down at the former Witch, his damaged face broke out into a smile. "Miss me?"_

"_I'm not here, this is a dream." Still holding her bruised wrists, Willow saw the Demon looking down into her green eyes._

"_Ah, but you're not safe in your dreams anymore, are you? All that power you had made you so powerful and delicious, but you're content to let them suck it out of you so you can be with blondie, aren't you?" Making his way across the short distance that separated them, Rack picked the girl up by her arms and held her just inches away from his face. "Didn't you enjoy what I gave you? All that power…"_

"_I didn't want it!"_

"_Lies won't get you anywhere, Strawberry, you should know that by now. They didn't help you when Tara left you, didn't they?" Still smiling, the Magick Dealer pressed the girl's red-locks against his nostrils and breathed in the scent of her hair. "You still smell so powerful."_

_Still desperately trying to break out of the Demon's grip, Willow saw the man holding her beginning to change into something else once more. As the figure changed, she watched the entity's frame change into that of herself, the clothing reminding her of the vamperic version of herself that she had seen only once before. The likeness effectively sent shivers rushing down her spine._

"_Bored now." Sighing, the vampire threw her other self to the ground with a large amount of force, causing another storm of pain coursing through the red-head's body. As she landed on the ground, Willow looked up and saw the vampire smiling down at her._

"_What…are…you?" She managed to spit out through the overwhelming amount of pain raging inside her._

"_What's the matter, sweetie? Don't like seeing what you're really like?" The voice coming out of the entity's body made her flinch as she recognized Tara's tone. Although the entity's frame didn't change, it continued to speak with the blonde girl's voice._

"_You're not real." _

"_Because you're such an expert on what's real and what's not." Snorting, the entity actually laughed at her. "You honestly think that Magick is just something you can turn on and off whenever you feel like it? Sorry, babe, but that's not how it works."_

"_Stop talking to me like her." Her tone starting to gain more and more strength despite the pain originating from her crushed wrists, Willow began to get back onto her feet. "You're not Tara."_

"_But I am a part of you." The entity's voice never faltering for a moment, its figure changed back into that of Willow herself, the only differences being that of pitch black clothing, hair, and eyes. "You really wish that you could deny that they're there, don't you?"_

"_Stop…"_

"_And you pray that it would all stop, wouldn't it? All this pain, all this hurt, you're the one who's caused it. You can see it when Giles looks at you, he wishes that he had the strength to kill you, to do what he should have done that night. And Tara, your dear sweet Tara, you only wish that she could put you out of your pathetic misery."_

"_No, I don't-" The red-head started before the mirror image of herself cast a spell at her in the mere blink of an eye._

"_You really think you can just stop your part of all this. But you can't. It's what you're supposed to do. If you think that you're supposed to end up happy with your little Tara, you're wrong. You're destined to come back to Sunnydale, and let us kill you. And then all the pain will stop. Everyone else will already be there waiting for you, Buffy, Tara, Dawn, Giles, all of them. But you know what the best part is?" Smiling, the figure shook her head at the red-head. "You're going to watch all of them die."_

Her body shooting up in the bed, Willow heard someone screaming before she realized that the voice was her own. Already prepared for the moment, Tara pulled the other girl into her embrace and started to quiet her down.

"It's alright, it was just a dream." As she whispered into the other girl's ear, Tara ran her fingers gently along the red-head's back.

"No, it wasn't." Turning her head in order to look into the blonde's eyes, Willow could hear the Magicks inside her brain mocking and jeering at her, but they lacked the proper power to attempt a take-over. "Tara, there was something else in my dream, something..._evil."_

"W-What did it do?"

"It...It kept changing on me. It was Warren, then it was Rack, and then it was the vampire version of me, and then it was me again, but all black and veiny." As she recounted the events of the dream, the former Witch knew that her body was still trembling, and that her wrists actually held a trace of the pain that had been inflicted upon them in the dream.

"Did it say anything else?"

"It told me that I was going to watch it kill you, Buffy, _everyone_. And then it would kill me." As she heard the end of the other girl's explanation, Tara pressed her lips against the red-head's cheek. Leaning into the blonde's kiss, Willow sighed as her body continued to tremble. The words of the earlier Ritual still lingered in her mind, mixing with the Black Magicks' taunts.

"W-What do you want to do?"

"I…I don't know. If Buffy's in trouble, she needs to know what she's up against. Anya might still have some books that could have information in them. They wouldn't know what-" Stopping herself in mid-sentence, Willow realized what she was implying. In only moments, the determination to find the source of evil that had tormented her in her dream had overwhelmed the fear of even looking at a book relating to Demons or Magick. The question was whether or not she could keep herself under control while even properly _thinking _about helping.

"Honey?"

"Tara, if I do this, I…I need you to help me. If you're near me, I can remember what I did, and I can stop myself if I start to go too far."

"Willow, are y-you sure? Buffy could do this by herself..."

"We're stronger when we're all together. All of us. We need to do this. Tara,_ I_ need to do this."

"But you're not completely cured. The Coven might be able to take more of the Magicks out of you yet." There was a noticeable amount of hesitation in the other girl's voice as she spoke, the sound of it cutting through the red-head's heart. "I don't want to lose you again."

"Tare-bear, you won't. You're a _part _of me." As she finished speaking, Willow pressed her own lips against Tara's, hoping that she could calm the other girl down somewhat. "Besides, no Magick anymore, remember?"

"But-" As she pulled her head back slightly in order to speak, Tara looked into the other girl's green eyes. "How are you going to help Buffy then?"

"Research girl. Buffy's not so good with the books, remember?"

"I remember." Smiling, the blonde's fingers continued to roam around the red-head's back. "Just please be careful."

"I will." As the determination began to drain out of her green eyes, Willow smiled. "…You know, I could be bad and not remember to be research girl, and just keep you locked up all day…"

"Oh?" Perking up her eyebrows in a similarly playful manner, Tara returned the smile. "…That wouldn't be so bad..."

* * *

"Any luck?"

"I made it inside her dream." Opening its eyes, the entity looked at the teenager watching it, and smiled slightly. "I could almost taste the fear pouring out of her mind. The Dark Magicks are still inside her, and although they've been subdued slightly, they're still there."

"And I'm going to take it that having them still there is a good thing?"

"All in due time." As its form changed back into that of Jenny Calendar, the entity continued to smile at the girl. "Good things come to those who wait, after all."

"Considering that I've been doing nothing but waiting, you'll excuse me if I hate hearing that answer."

"Someone's being a spoiled brat." Perking up her eyebrow, the spirit took a step back and began to dissolve in on itself. "Keep looking Amy, you're getting closer."

"Whatever." Turning her back on the entity as it disappeared from sight, Amy once again removed the Spell Books from their place on the shelf, and began to breeze through the pages, skipping over the ones she had read before. Inside, she felt nothing but frustration over the fact that, once again, the entity had revealed almost nothing to her, and expected her to work with the minuscule amount of information that it actually had given to her.

Her mind's images of Willow feeling some of the pain that she had inflected on her was the single thing that drove her past every single bit of frustration that she felt. Never in her entire life had Amy ever felt hatred towards another human being, apart from her feelings towards her mother, like she did towards the red-headed Witch. To be used, and then tossed away like a useless toy was something that she didn't intend to feel ever again, and to have it come from someone who knew exactly what she had been through before only added insult to injury.

One way or another, she was going to find Willow, and let her know how it felt to feel that pain.


	7. Return To Sunnydale

**Alright, I'm just going to start off by saying two things. First, I don't think that the last chapter was one of the better ones I've written for this story. Hopefully things will get better with this one, and from here on out. Second, for the first time in my entire life, I tried to write a sex/love scene for this, or at least half of one. So please...be gentle. **

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy or any of the other characters. They belong to Joss Whedon, and Mutant Enemy **

* * *

**Chapter 7**

Her eyes still closed, Willow could feel the plane rumbling as it took off beneath her. She had never truly liked or enjoyed flying, and having to go back to Sunnydale in exactly the same manner that she had left brought up more memories of that first trip. Inside her, the recessed Black Magicks tried to mock her by commenting on each individual memory as it arose, but given their lack of proper strength, the volume of their taunts and jeers was dramatically dimmed in comparison to their normal level of audible sound.

"Willow, sweetie, are you alright?" As she laid her hand on top of the red-head's, Tara could tell that the other girl was nervous. The Coven and Giles had discussed with her the ways and things that would cause the former Witch to potentially relapse into calling upon the amount of Black Magicks still lying somewhat dormant inside her. The thought of seeing her girl once more in the thrall of Magicks she could neither control nor entirely understand actually made her shiver. Both the Coven and Giles had taken every precious second to pour into her mind the grim reality of the danger that lay in sending both herself and Willow back to Sunnydale, even with the presence of an apocalypse threatening to present itself. If Willow relapsed, even for the faintest of seconds, she would become nothing but a threat to everyone and everything around her. The Black Magicks inside her knew what had been happening, and the part of her brain that they occupied always had the potential to take control of her.

"No…" Her breathing beginning to become somewhat labored, Willow could almost feel her heart wanting to explode inside her chest.

"W-What's wrong? Tell me."

"I'm afraid." As she felt Tara's fingers interlock with her own, the red-head tried to calm herself down from the high that her fear had escalated her mind to.

"Of what?"

"They're not going to trust me. The things I did to them, they must hate me."

"We've been over this, sweetie. _I_ trust you." Smiling, the blonde held onto the other girl's hand even stronger than before. "W-We'll take everything as slow as we possibly can."

"I don't know if I can do this, Tara. I should have stayed with Giles and the Coven. What was I thinking?" Finally opening her eyes, Willow turned her head in order to look into the blonde girl's blue eyes. "I can't go back to using Magick."

"And you won't. I believe in you."

"I don't deserve you, do you know that?" Smiling, the red-head breathed out in order to try and bring her heart-beat back under her control. "I don't think they'd appreciate me trying to meditate on the floor of the plane, would they?"

"Probably not." Chuckling slightly, Tara smiled back at her girl. "Even if you explained it to them, they would disapprove."

* * *

_As she held onto the shivering girl virtually lying in her lap, Tara could hear nothing but the red-head's whimpers filling her ears. _

"_Tara, it hurts, it won't stop." Her grip on the blonde girl almost stone-like, Willow knew that she was crying, but she couldn't stop herself. She had tried to prepare herself for what Giles said could possibly come from subjecting herself to the first of the Rituals that the Coven had promised would help clear the Black Magicks from her body, but nothing had been enough to anticipate feeling like she was being stabbed over and over again. Every muscle inside her body felt as if it had been set ablaze, with the 'flames' refusing to burn themselves out. _

"_It's alright, I'm here." Unsure of what else to say, the other girl pressed the Witch's head into her shoulder. They had been here for almost an hour now, with Willow's pain having started almost immediately after the Coven had completed the Ritual. It had come quickly, and once it had overtaken the girl's body, it had been the only thing that her girl could think of. No matter what she had brought up or done, Tara had been unable to bring the girl's thoughts away from the pain. _

"_Tara, Ta-ra…" Her head still buried in the blonde's shirt, Willow brought her knees up to her chest in an attempt to stop some of the pain that was burning the inside of her body as she wailed into the other girl's chest. _

"_Honey, I can't make it stop, I'm sorry." Unable to make herself feel anything but sorrow inside, Tara continued to hold the girl close to her body. In her mind, she considered even praying to the Goddess that the pain inside the red-head would evaporate and everything would return to what it once had been. _

"_I feel like I'm dying." Her voice muffled due to her head being buried into Tara' shoulder, the Witch's words were lined with an unavoidable amount of pain. "Tara, please make it stop."_

"_I can't." Sighing, the blonde girl pulled the sheets a little tighter atop both herself and Willow. "Magick won't help you."_

"_But it hurts…" Her words effectively trailing off as she realized what she was asking, the red-head whimpered slightly and closed her eyes as another violent wave of pain flowed through her body. "It just hurts…"_

"_I know." Planting a kiss on the girl's red-hair, Tara could feel how cold Willow was underneath the pajamas that she had dressed her in once the pains had started. "Sweetie, you're freezing."_

"_It hurts…" Repeating what she had been saying, the red-head nevertheless nodded in response to the other girl's comment. Resting her hand against the Witch's, Tara felt like she had touched a thing made of solid ice. Refusing to withdraw her hand, she wrapped her fingers around Willow's, the difference in temperature overwhelmingly apparent. _

"_I know it hurts, but it has to be helping you somehow, maybe that's why it hurts." _

"_But why does it have to hurt so much?" _

"_I don't know." Giving the other girl another gentle kiss, Tara sighed once more. "I don't know, honey, and I'm sorry."_

"_It's not…your…fault." Managing to push out the words despite the intense pain in her body, Willow opened her tired and sorrowful green eyes and looked at the blonde girl. "It's mine." _

_As a few moments of silence, save for Willow's continued whimpering from the pain she was feeling, passed between the two girls, Tara looked down at the girl she held in her arms._

"_Do you want to take a shower? It might warm you up." As she felt the red-head nodding underneath her touch, Tara pushed the covers aside and gently helped the other girl onto her feet. Still shaking almost violently, Willow let the blonde lead her out of the room, her own body almost refusing to respond to her commands. Her red-hair covering her hurt eyes, Willow felt the sturdiness of a wall press against her back as Tara gently 'set' her there in order to turn on the water. As soon as the deed was done, the blonde girl resumed her grip on the trembling Witch._

"_Are you sure you don't want me to get Giles?"_

"_No…" Saying the word before trailing off, Willow wrapped her arms around herself as she continued to feel even colder now that Tara was no longer cradling her and they weren't surrounded by warm bed sheets. _

"_Y-You can't get in with your clothes on." _

"_I don't want to take them off." Shaking her head, the red-head pulled the bottom of her pajama top down as Tara started to lift it in an attempt to take it off. "Too cold."_

"_You want to get in with them still on?" Looking at the other girl with a slightly confused look on her face, Tara saw the red-head nod in agreement before she visibly flinched in pain. "Are you sure? I could help you take them off."_

"_Too cold." Repeating what she had said earlier, Willow allowed the blonde to lead her into the running shower. As the warm water hit her almost freezing body, she whimpered as the warmth from the water tried to work its way into the parts of her skin that was uncovered by her pajamas. The clothing she was wearing already completely soaked, the Witch felt Tara's arms wrap around her waist as she leaned against the wall next to her._

"_Do y-you feel any better?" Her arms still wrapped around the red-head's waist, Tara felt some of the water from the shower-head starting to soak through her sweat-pants. _

"_No…" Shaking her head, Willow rested her hands on the pair holding her. "Tara, it won't stop hurting, it just keeps coming and coming…"_

"_I'm sorry." Kissing the girl's cheek, the blonde rested her head against the red-head's shoulder. Underneath her grip, Willow's skin still felt below freezing, a fact that made her feel fear as it shot through her veins. As she felt the other girl continuing to tremble from the pain she was feeling, Tara sighed._

_It was going to be a long night._

* * *

"Wait, what do you mean that she's not completely cured?" As she stared at her older sister in complete and utter disbelief, Dawn no longer cared if anyone overheard her. "Buffy, are you _insane?!"_

"Dawnie, it's alright. Giles said she was fine, and Tara said the same thing. Besides, we need her."

"After everything she did, you're just going to let her come right back in, just like that?"

"Yes, _we _are. _We_ need her and Tara here. Something's coming, and _we_ need everyone." Her eyes still searching the massive crowd for Willow or Tara, Buffy found part of herself agreeing with what her sister was saying. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't make the memories of fighting her best friend leave her immediate memory. She had forgiven her, but even still, the image of the other girl being completely consumed by Black Magicks haunted her, much like the memories of Angelus always hung above Angel. How different would Willow be now? Would she still have her hair stained with a small tint of black?

"Buf, I think this is their flight." Pointing to another group of departing passengers, Xander was already beginning to pick apart the massive group in search of the two girls. As more and more people made their way off of the ramp and into the terminal, the three Scoobies finally managed to catch sight of a red-head and a blonde slowly making their way off of the plane, holding each other's hands as they did so.

"Willow, Tara!" Jumping up and down, Xander waved his hands in an attempt to grab their attention. Watching the two girls through the crowd, Buffy and Dawn saw the two girls catch sight of the man jumping and down while waving his arms. Smiling slightly, Willow looked to be the same person that she had been before Warren had come to the house, but there still seemed to be something different about her. As she watched the two approach them, Buffy smiled. _No signs of black hair, that's a good sign…_

"Tara!" As the blonde girl came close enough to her, Dawn ran towards her and embraced her in a tight hug. A smile coming to her face, Tara returned the hug while Willow tried to distance herself slightly from the younger girl. Seeing this, Xander made his way to his oldest friend and wrapped his arms around her.

"Good to see ya, Wills." He said as he pulled the red-head towards him with his hug.

"Hi Xander." As she hugged the man back, Willow looked past his shoulder just in time to see Dawn looking at her, her face a visible storm of emotions, none of which were good ones. Feeling how tense the girl had become, Xander let her go and looked behind him.

"Hey Dawnie…" Saying the greeting with an unsure voice, the red-head didn't expect the younger girl to answer her.

"Well, you're not black and veiny anymore, that's a plus." The brunette answered, her eyes almost ripping the other girl to shreds. Her eyes widening with hurt, Willow backed away even further as if she were unsure of whether or not the other girl would jump out and try to attack her.

"Dawn!" Looking at her younger sister with a mix of shock and anger on her face, Buffy crossed her arms across her chest.

"I'll be in the car." Turning and leaving the group without any further word, Dawn made her way through the crowd and finally disappeared out the door. Watching her leave, Willow's entire stance changed.

"She still hates me."

"She doesn't, she's just mad." Turning towards the other girl, Buffy smiled. "She'll get over it."

"Yeah, remember, the Dawnster is mad at you one moment, and then the next day you're friends again." Wrapping his arm around the red-head's shoulder, Xander led the party towards the door. As they fell into step behind them, Buffy and Tara looked at one another.

"Well, so much for Dawn being happy to see her." The Slayer said, once she had made sure they were far enough behind both Xander and Willow that the two wouldn't be able to hear her. "I'm sorry, Tara, I didn't think she was going to do that in front of her."

"It's fine. After what you told me in the letters, I almost expected it to happen. I'm worried about what Willow's feeling though."

"How is she, really?"

"She got better." As they made their way out the door, the two girls continued with the conversation after waiting for a moment for their eyes to adjust to the sunlight. "She still isn't the same as she was."

"Do you think she'll ever be?"

"No." Sighing, Tara stopped in her tracks, and looked the other girl in her eyes. "Buffy, she's hurt. W-What she did, I don't think she'll ever forgive herself for."

"I get that." Looking down at the ground for a moment, Buffy raised her eyes again in order to look back at the Wiccan. "There was a time I didn't think I could ever forgive myself for killing someone."

"Angel?" As she said the vampire's name aloud, Tara saw the momentary flash of emotion that flowed through the Slayer's eyes.

"I kissed him, and then I killed him." Shaking her head, the blonde Slayer started towards the parked car lying only a few feet away. "Different time, different place."

* * *

"Willow?" As she climbed the top of the stairs, Tara looked in each of the rooms before she reached the end of the hall. Inside the master bedroom that the two of them had shared before they had left, she found the other girl sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at the repaired window and the slightly darkened, but still cleaned, carpet where the blonde Wiccan knew that she had undoubtedly laid after she had been shot.

"It's been fixed, but it's still there." The words slipping out of her mouth without any effort, Willow lifted her head towards where the other girl was standing inside the doorway. "It's still the same."

"Sweetie…"

"We shouldn't have come back. I don't belong here anymore." As she turned away and focused once more on the window and carpet, the red-head couldn't help but feel completely and utterly numb inside. Everything was confusing now, even more so now that they were back atop the Hellmouth. The voices were still sounding off inside her head, although their strength was still nowhere near what they needed to attempt yet another takeover.

Walking into the room, the blonde shut the door behind her, and locked it quietly. Unaware of what was going on behind her, Willow continued to stare at the window, her mind effectively sealed off in her own thoughts. Silently making her way towards the bed, the blonde eased herself down onto the recently cleaned mattress. As sat down on the bed behind her girl , Tara trailed her fingers along part of the red-head's back where the skin was exposed. Her mind forcefully pulled out of her thoughts, Willow shivered slightly as she felt the other girl's nails dragging slightly across her lower back.

"I could make you feel like you belong." As she breathed the words into the red-head's ear, Tara worked her hand up past the bottom of the other girl's shirt and onto her back.

"Tara…" Starting to talk, Willow felt the blonde's hand starting to trace a gentle pattern into her back.

"_Ssshhh." _Shushing the other girl, Tara pressed her lips against the red-head's ear, and gently bit down on her earlobe. Melting into the woman behind her, Willow shuttered from the combination of the blonde biting on her ear and rubbing her back. Almost immediately, all of her previous thoughts began to disappear from her mind, replaced only with the sensations of what she was experiencing. Her hand drifting its way forward to the red-head's breasts, Tara's fingers felt slightly cold against the girl's skin.

"Tara-" Starting her sentence over again, Willow felt Tara's free hand press against her lips.

_"Sssshhh."_ Repeating the shushing that she had done earlier, Tara buried her face into the red-head's neck and gently started to suck on it, occasionally brushing the tips her teeth against the other girl's skin. Continuing to shutter without any control, Willow reached back with her hand and pressed the blonde's head away from her neck in order to fully turn around. Pressing her lips against the other girl's, her tongue begged for entry as it probed every possible entrance. Her hands working at pulling off the red-head's shirt, Tara found herself not wanting to break the kiss for even a moment's time.

Finally pulling away from the kiss in order to pull off her shirt, Willow wasted no time in resuming the kiss before the garment had even hit the floor. Her sole attention being the pair of lips that she was kissing, she wrapped her arms around the other girl's back, her fingers scraping along the sweater that the blonde girl was wearing. Linking her hands around the other girl's neck, Tara felt the red-head's nails making their way down the back of her sweater until they reached the bottom and buried themselves underneath the article. As her fingers made their way up to the straps of the blonde's bra, the former Witch's digits started to toy with them, her fingertips alternating their touch between the bra and the skin underneath it.

"Are you teasing me?" Tara asked as she pulled away from the kiss for a moment in order to collect her breath.

"Maybe…" Smiling slyly, the red-head continued to alternate where her fingertips were touching. Her thoughts from earlier still lying forgotten in the back of her mind, she undid the article she had been playing with and let her fingers trace their way along the blonde's skin. "What if I am?"

"It's not nice to tease people…" Returning the smile that the other girl was giving her, Tara fingers began playing with her girl's red hair. Behind her, she felt Willow's fingers beginning to drift lower and lower across her stomach until they were finally touching the very top of her jeans.

"Oh, it isn't?" Still smiling, Willow locked eyes with the blue ones in front of her. "I didn't know."

"Willow Rosenberg, didn't your mother ever teach you better?" Her fingers' attention having switched to the chain of the necklace her girl was wearing, Tara leaned down and pressed her lips against the base of the red-head's neck. The action causing her to shutter once more, Willow's fingers moved down to the button on the front of the other girl's jeans. As she tried to undo the button, she felt Tara's lips starting to move lower across her chest with each passing second. Behind her back, the blonde's fingers started to fiddle with the bra she was wearing.

"I guess not…" She breathed, her senses nearly on fire from what she was experiencing. Feeling the bra behind her unlock, she moved her arms in order to let the garment slide down her arm, eventually falling to the ground to join her shirt. "Maybe you should teach me."

Her fingers finally succeeding in undoing the button on the other girl's jeans, Willow brought her hands up and placed them against the girl's cheeks. As she allowed the red-head to remove her head from the place on the girl's chest that she had been kissing, Tara felt Willow's lips press against her own once more. Allowing the girl's tongue entrance into her mouth, the blonde felt the red-head moving her backwards towards the uncovered mattress. As she saw the mattress made contact with the girl's back, Willow's freed hands continued to toy with the other girl's unbuttoned jeans, managing to pull them halfway down while her tongue continued to explore every inch of Tara's mouth. Her hands moving up to the bottom of the girl's sweater, the red-head tugged on it in an attempt to move it up enough in order to pull it off completely. Arching her back in order to allow her girl the space she needed, Tara broke the kiss for a moment in order to help in pulling her sweater off.

Before the article of clothing had even hit the floor, the two Wiccans' lips were once against pressing against each other. Her unhooked bra still covering her breasts, Tara felt the other girl's fingers pushing it away in order to get at the skin underneath the article. Managing to squirm out of the garment, the blonde found her groan of pleasure being effectively swallowed by Willow's mouth as the girl's tongue still remained rooted inside her mouth. As the red-head's fingers moved over her breasts, Tara closed her eyes while her body shuttered from her girl's touch.

* * *

"This is nice." As she buried herself further into the blonde girl's stomach, Willow sighed in completely and totally happiness.

"Glad you think so." Her head softly resting on the pillow beneath her, Tara felt the individual strands of the girl's red-hair pressing against her bare skin. The events of what had happened only moments before flowed through each of their minds. Again the world and all other concerns had faded away as soon as they had felt each other's lips on one another.

"Trust me, I more than think so." Kissing the blonde's stomach, Willow smiled as she felt the girl shutter beneath her lips.

"It seems strange to be back here, doesn't it?" As she looked around the room, the majority of things had been left where they were while their owners had been away in England. It was obvious that once the other Scoobies had heard of their return, they had cleaned up the room as best they could without hampering anything. The room remained largely the same, with the only significant differences being the repaired window and cleaned carpet.

"A little."

"It'll be alright." Kissing the top of the girl's head, Tara smiled. "We'll take this step-by-step."

"Sounds good."

"Do you think that whatever is coming knows what Buffy's gone up against?" Asking the question, the blonde could almost see the red-head perk up her eyebrow.

"I hope so. Maybe it'll go away if it knows that."


	8. The Morning After

**Thanks for the kind reviews last chapter. You have no idea how writing that little piece with Willow & Tara 'loving' each other was hard for me...**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy or any of the characters. They belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.**

* * *

**Chapter 8**

As she stepped down from the final part of the stair-case, Willow found the rest of the house to be strangely silent, apart from the sound of dishes being moved inside a filled sink within the nearby kitchen. Rubbing the back of her hand against her tired green eyes, the red-head moved silently through the hall and into the kitchen. Already able to hear the other girl coming, Buffy lifted her head from the dishes in front of her and smiled.

"Morning."

"Morning." Repeating the greeting with a yawn, Willow sat herself down at the island in the center of the room and continued to rub her eyes.

"Somebody looks tired." Still smiling, the Slayer picked up a nearby towel and proceeded to dry off her hands. "I take it that Tara is sleeping?"

"Yeah, I figured she needed some rest, considering the whole trip back from England. Plus, I kind wanted to talk to you." Her gaze momentarily dropping to the top of the island, the red-head looked at the other girl. "Buffy, I'm sorry."

"You don't have to apologize to me, Wills. Tara told me what you want through with the Coven and Giles. Trust me, _so _not mad at you."

"Buffy, I tried to kill you…"

"You and a thousand other things by now. I've died...what is it, twice now? Really, it's alright." Smiling at the former Witch, Buffy leaned back against the kitchen-top behind her. "I probably over-reacted when I found you and Tara after…what happened. I threatened you when I should have been seeing if you were ok."

"Buffy, no, I tried to kill everyone, you didn't do anything wrong…I begged Tara to kill me before you came and found me. I was so afraid that you were going to kill me because of what I had done."

"I think I wanted to." Seeing the sudden reaction that her words had on the other girl, the Slayer rushed to apologize. "But I don't think I could have done that. You're my friend, Wills, and I don't kill friends."

Smiling, Willow's green eyes lit up with happiness for a split second.

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!" Jumping out of her seat, she rushed towards the blonde girl and wrapped her arms around her in a hug. "I love you!"

"Easy, Wills, I'm not like that…" Her joke bringing a smile to her face, Buffy nevertheless returned the hug being given to her. "You have Tara for that kind of stuff."

"Oh, you're funny, aren't you?" A smile of her own spread across her face, the red-head pulled her arms back and moved back a few steps. "I'd forgotten how sarcastic you could be."

"You've changed a little bit, Wills. You seem…perkier…that's a word, right?"

"Yes, it's a word." Shoving her hands into the pockets of her flannel pajamas bottoms, Willow's green eyes switched back to their slightly subdued look that they had held ever since she had gotten off the plane. "It's just been…_different,_ having this power inside me that can talk back and everything. It kinda hurts."

"What do you mean they can talk to you?"

"I can hear them inside my head." Frowning, Willow pointed to her forehead. "In here. Nobody else, just me."

"Oh, god, do they hurt?" Concern flooding her face, the Slayer tried to remember if Tara had ever mentioned voices in one of her letters. "Can they...you know…make you go all black and veiny again?"

"They could, but they're kinda recessed. The Coven pushed them back. All they can really do is talk to me. Which I can ignore, but you know, considering they're inside my head, it's kinda hard to do sometimes."

"God, Wills, I'm so sorry."

"You don't have to be. I did this to myself." Sighing, the red-head leaned back against the island and dropped her gaze slightly. "I should have been able to feel her pulse. I could have stopped myself if I had done that."

"Willow, you were in shock. It's alright."

"No, it's _not,_ Buffy." Raising her head, the former Witch's face took on a sad quality. "I _poisoned _myself. The Coven even said so. The Dark Magicks could be inside me for the rest of my life, talking to me, taunting me, trying to make me give in…Tara shouldn't be with me. I could hurt her. I took something that meant something between us, and I abused it."

As she listened to the other girl's sad babble, Buffy could see Tara standing in the hallway, her presence having gone unnoticed by Willow.

"Do you love her?"

"More than anything. When I think about what I did, I can always see her face when she looked at me and saw what I'd done to myself. Buffy, I _hurt_ her. I hurt her more than I could have ever imagined or wanted. I see it every time I look at her and she looks at me like I'm wonderful. I don't deserve it. But she looks at me like I do. That's what keeps me going."

"Have you told her that?" Seeing how the Wiccan in the hallway was silently listening to the conversation, Buffy continued to keep Willow's focus solely on her.

"I want to. But I don't think I can. She makes my tongue get tied, in a tongue tiey sort of way." Seemingly oblivious to her girl standing only a few feet away from her, the red-head folded her arms across her chest. "Besides, I don't think I could tell it to her without babbling, since you know, I have a tendency to do that that, since I've been babbly all my life, and I'm doing that right now, aren't I?"

"Y-You are, sweetie." Finally speaking up, Tara entered the kitchen and made her way over to Willow. Slightly startled by the girl's entrance, Willow's green eyes lit up with a combination of shock and embarrassment.

"Tara…how much did you just hear, because you know, I kinda might have said more than I should have, mainly because it was just Buffy and me talking, but then you came in, and why can't I stop babbling right now?"

"All of it." Smiling widely, Tara pulled the other girl towards her. "Didn't we have a conversation about how I didn't want you to blame yourself?"

"I'll just step out now." Heading towards the entrance to the kitchen, Buffy headed up the stairs. "Dawn, come on, you have to get ready for school!"

"Tara, I…" As she tried to explain, the former Witch found herself becoming lost in the other girl's blue eyes. "I…I…"

"Words, honey, use words."

"I shouldn't have said any of those things, since you weren't in the room, because saying things about people when they're not around isn't nice, and I'm supposed to be good…" As her babble trailed off, the red-head felt and heard the other girl chuckling slightly.

"It's alright."

"Tara…I love you. More than anything."

"I know." Still smiling, Tara pressed her lips against Willow's, sending a small wave of shock through the other girl for a moment until she realized what was happening. Her mind virtually shutting down, apart from the ever present Black Magicks and the barriers she had mentally placed around them, the former Witch completely melted into the other girl's touch.

* * *

"So, what is it exactly that we might be up against?" Struggling to be heard over the sheer volume of the Bronze's newly installed P.A. system, Buffy looked across the table at the two other girls sitting with her. "We're gonna need every little piece of information we can get."

"I don't really know much more than you do." Frowning, Willow knew that she had given the Slayer an answer that she hadn't wanted to hear. "Besides the fact that there was something in my dream the night before we left."

"Something was in your dream? You mean besides all the non-sense stuff that comes with most dreams?"

"This wasn't just a dream. It was like something was in there, with me, trying to tell me something."

"And you trusted it?"

"No, I didn't." Shaking her head at the memory of the dream itself, the red-head closed her eyes. "Trust me, no trusting was going on in there."

"You mind telling me what happened exactly?"

"I can't really explain it. There was something inside my head, and it wasn't the Magicks. It was like something was telling me that I was going to die."

"Again, you trusted it?" Taking a sip of her drink, the Slayer continued to look back at the other girl. "Can you give me any more info?"

"It kept changing its form. It was Warren first, then it was Rack, and then it was the skanky vampire me, and then it was me when I was all black and veiny. It changed so quick that it couldn't have just been my imagination. It felt nothing like anything inside me."

"You said it can change its shape?" Her eyes perking up at the new information, Buffy felt a chord of recognition flow through her mind as her brain tried to remember where she had encountered something with that kind of power. Unable to place the memory, she sighed. "That might help. I'll call Giles later and see if he can dig anything up."

"M-Maybe the Watcher's Council can help?" As Tara said the suggestion aloud, the Slayer barely managed to suppress a fit of laughter.

"Yeah, maybe in a million years. We'd get better help from-"

"Amy?" Saying the girl's name aloud, Willow's eyes focused on someone walking into the club.

"Not the name I was going to say, but it works." Not noticing where the former Witch was looking, Buffy took another sip of her drink.

"No, _Amy."_ As the teenager walked into the Bronze, Willow's eyes grew large with a combination of shock and slight fear. Inside her brain, the Black Magicks seemingly began to call out to the other girl touched by the same kind of Magicks that a portion of them had originated from.

"Oh, great. Just what we need." Turning around in her chair, Buffy started to get onto her feet.

"Amy the rat?" Looking at the girl beside her, Tara squeezed the red-head's hand. "Should we leave?"

"Trust me, I can make her leave."

"Buffy, it's alright…don't hurt her." As the former Witch voiced her answer, she found the girl sitting across from her looking back at her with a shocked look on her face.

"Willow, are you_ insane?_ She's the one who introduced you to your Magickal drug dealer, remember?"

"I remember. But Rack's dead. Amy might be better now. The whole 'not able to get a Magick fix' might have made her realize what she did." Her eyes still focused on the teenager making her way towards the table, Willow closed her eyes in an attempt to push the taunting Magicks inside her to the back of her mind.

"Hello, Willow." Hardly wasting any time with a greeting to the other girls sitting at the table, Amy focused her gaze solely on the red-head in front of her. "Haven't seen you around lately."

"I've been…away." With Tara still squeezing her hand underneath the table, Willow felt a small bit of confidence beginning to sink into her mind. "Um, how have you been?"

"Fine. Fine. I went to my dad's place after Buffy kicked me out of the house."

"You're lucky that's all I did." The Slayer mumbled underneath her breath.

"Yeah, he didn't have as much Magick stuff as you or Rack did, but I got along fine with him."

"Can we not talk about Magick?" Pressing her back fully against the booth seat behind her, the red-head swallowed somewhat hard.

"Why not?" Looking over at Tara, the teenager's lips morphed into an 'o'. "You're trying to stay off them because she'll leave again."

"No, that's not it." Shaking her head slightly, Willow wished that the girl would simply go away. "Amy, really, you wouldn't understand-"

"Don't you remember how it feels?" As she stared into the red-head's green eyes, Amy could see for a single moment the amount of power hidden behind the veil of fear that the other girl had thrown up in order to hide behind. "How good it feels to have Magick flowing through you, filling every single muscle with sensations not even your dreams could give you?"

"Y-You should leave." The tone of her voice surprising even herself, Tara rose from her seat at almost the same instant that Buffy did the same.

"Amy, door, maybe you two should meet." Reaching out and grabbing the teenager's arm, the Slayer resisted the urge to use more force than what was actually necessary. _"Now."_

"Hiding, Willow? You've got all this power, and you're just going to act like it's not there inside you?" Taking a few steps back from the table, Amy smiled. "Oh, this is just _perfect. _You're actually _afraid_ to use it, aren't you?"

"Amy-" Willow started before the teenager interrupted her.

"Cause, you know, I heard what you did. The whole 'trying to destroy the world' thing didn't work out for you?"

"Amy, leave or I'm going to throw you_ through_ the door." Tightening her grip just slightly, Buffy mentally cut the girl in half with her angry gaze.

"_You'll destroy everything around you." _ As a noticeable shift in stance and voice came over the teenager, Buffy only tightened her grip even more than she had before._ "Everything you touch will wither, die, and turn to dust."_

"Buffy, what's w-wrong with her?"

"Besides the fact that she wanted Willow to use Magick again, I'm not sure." Still maintain her grip on the teenager's wrist, the Slayer waved her hand in front of the other girl's eyes. Not even blinking, Amy continued her possessed monologue.

"_From the Voyager, the Power and the Darkness shall intertwine and become one." _Her arm seemingly disappearing from the Slayer's grip, Amy stepped back and evaporated into the air in the blink of an eye.

"Ok, Willow…explanation please?" Looking at the other girl, Buffy's eyes visible searched the former Witch's face for an answer.

"I…I don't know." Closing her eyes, the red-head could hear the Magicks inside her own body beginning their usual taunts and jeers, only their volume began to gradually increase with each passing second.

_Hits home, doesn't it? You took her in and threw her out when you were done with her. Just like what you tried to do with us._

"Stop, stop, stop…" Pressing a hand to her head, Willow felt Tara's hand almost instantly come to rest on her back.

"Willow, sweetie?"

_It's such a pity that you threw away Power for love. Power is so much more fun to use, isn't it? _

"Buffy, I'm going to take her home." As she helped the other girl to her feet, Tara could seemingly already tell what was happening inside her girl's head.

"Is she alright?" Her eyes flooding with concern, Buffy took a step towards the two Wiccans.

"Seeing Amy might have given the Magicks more power. She just needs to rest." Wrapping her arm around the red-head's waist, the blonde girl led the former Witch towards the door. All around them, the music of the Bronze continued to build and swell with each beat pouring out of the P.A. system. As she opened the door and virtually pulled the other girl out with her, Tara looked around in order to make sure that no-one else was around before turning back to the red-head beside her.

"Honey, are y-you alright?" From where she stood with her back against the wall, Willow shook her head as the Magicks inside her continued their monologue.

_Are you alright? Are you alright? Go on, answer her! Tell her we're hurting you, and enjoying every damn second of it!_

"No, I'm not alright…" Her hands still held up to her head, the red-head kept her eyes firmly shut out against the outside world.

"Is it the Magicks?" Nodding in agreement, Willow felt Tara pull her hands away from her face and take them into her own.

"They're just taunting me. They're too weak to take over."

_Are we? We can take over you anytime we want…it's just more fun to watch you squirm…_

"It's alright, just look at me." Slowly opening her eyes, Willow locked her green eyes with Tara's blue ones. As she felt the blonde girl's thumb moving in a small circle on her palm, the former Witch started to focus solely on the feeling on her palm, making the taunts inside her head seem farther and farther away. Her green eyes still locked on Tara's blue ones, Willow felt the small spark that shot through her body as the other girl's fingers rested against her palm. As the Magicks inside her brain continued their taunts, despite the fact that their volume continued to further decrease with each passing second, the red-head closed her eyes.

"Better?" Seeing the girl in front of her nod, Tara pressed her lips against the other girl's palm and smiled.

"What did you do?" Her eyes opening once more, Willow breathed a sigh of relief as the fact that the Dark Magicks had returned to their normal volume and place in her mind.

"I helped y-you concentrate. Giles told me it could help you." Still smiling, the blonde continued to hold her girl's hand. "Did it w-work?"

"Yeah." Nodding somewhat happily, the red-head looked up at the Wiccan's blue eyes. "How did you make me feel like that?"

"Before w-we left, Giles and the Coven talked to me. They told me that I could help you concentrate your strength when the Magicks felt like they were too much." Leaning forward slightly, Tara pressed her lips against Willow's cheek before she moved down and kissed the girl's lips. Closing her eyes as her senses adjusted to the feeling of the other girl's tongue making its way past her lips and into her mouth. Meeting her girl's passion head-on, the former Witch wrapped her arms around the blonde's waist. Her own hands resting against her girl's shoulders, Tara could feel the girl's red-locks barely meeting her fingertips.

"Maybe we should go back to the house." Managing to pull herself away from the blonde's touch, Willow found herself beginning to babble. "Because you know, Amy could still be around, and that would be bad. Bad, bad, bad, bad."

"Ok." Smiling as she took the red-head's hand, Tara stepped back in order to allow the former Witch to move away from the wall. As her feet fell into step, Willow felt almost all of the fear she had experienced earlier disappear as the spark she had felt through her hand earlier continued to move through her body. As the two Wiccans moved towards the main sidewalk, still holding each other's hands, they both found themselves smiling at each other.

"So, can you help me concentrate anytime you want? I get distracted easily." Looking at the other girl with sly grin on her face, Willow squeezed the blonde's hand.

"Do you…" Returning the grin, Tara felt the slight worry that had flooded her mind earlier receding into the abyss that it had crawled out of. "Can't have that…"

* * *

"God, I'm so cold right now." As Amy ran her hands over her exposed arms, she watched as the entity pacing around her room changed its form back into Warren.

"I possessed you, you're gonna feel like that." Pacing around the room, the entity seemed somewhat please with what it had accomplished only minutes before. "I can almost feel the Magicks working through her. It's like a fine wine. It just rolls off of her like there's nothing there but that power."

"Great to hear, but don't do that to me again."

"Be thankful I did. I could barely get you out of there using the Magick inside you."

"What are you trying to say?" Her voice filling out with anger and a slight amount of hurt, Amy's hands dropped to her hips.

"Your connection is frayed. It's barely manageable to work with."

"_Excuse me?" _Looking at the entity, Amy's face became awash with the anger she felt. "What the hell does that mean?"

"Your withdrawal from using the…_pathetic_ forms of Dark Magicks you had access to have weakened your connection. You need more of it in order to use it to your full potential."

"And how exactly do you recommend I go about doing that? Just call 'Magicks Anonymous'?" As the entity continued to look at the young Witch, it smiled.

"From someone who's willing to donate some."

"You mean take it from Willow?" Rolling its eyes at the girl's response, the entity took a few steps closer to her.

"_No, _I mean take them from _yourself._ Of course I mean take them from that little bitch!"

"And how exactly do we do that?"

"Simple. There's a spell that can transfer every piece of Magick from her body into yours. Once you do that, she'll be completely powerless. Nothing more than a normal human shell." As she listened to the entity's explanation, Amy's face broke out into a sharp smile. Over the past few weeks, she had thought about almost nothing more than finding ways to make the other Witch feel the same amount of pain that she had suffered through. Now, she saw that chance slowly beginning to become a very real possibility.

"And once I'm in control of that power?"

"Simple again. Inflict all the pain you want on her, and then kill her. I could care less how you do it, but make sure you take care of the Slayer and all of her little friends as well. Willow's connected to all of them, whether she knows it or not. Kill each one of them, and she'll get weaker and weaker, until finally there's nothing left but a broken little girl, afraid of using Magicks she can't even understand."


	9. Sweetest Thing

**And now we reach the point where things start to pick up ;)**

**Enjoy!**

**D****isclaimer: I do not own Buffy or any of the characters. They belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.**

* * *

**Chapter 9 **

As she lifted her head from the pillow, Willow could feel the sunlight resting its rays on both herself and the woman lying beside her. Mumbling something underneath her breath, she buried her head even further into the warm sheets beneath her. Her half-asleep mind just barely able to comprehend what was going on around her, she could hear Tara muttering something about it being morning already.

"It's too early to get up." Grabbing a nearby pillow, the former Witch surrounded her head with it, effectively shutting out the light that had burst into the room. Feeling the mattress move slightly from where she was lying, Willow found laughter starting to come out of her tired mouth as Tara's fingers danced along her exposed back.

"Come on, it's not that early." As Tara's tone broke through the material covering her ears, the red-head continued to laugh as the other girl's fingers knew the exact places to tickle her. "You can get up."

"_Taraaa,_ stop it!" Trying to move to another corner of the bed in order to escape from the Wiccan's fingers, Willow heard the other girl's laughter joining her own as Tara followed her.

"I don't think I will…" Pursing the other girl as she tried to escape from her fingers, Tara moved the pillow away from the red-head's ears and turned her onto her back in order to see her laughing face.

"_Taraa, please!" _Still laughing, the red-head tried to move the other girl's fingers away as they assaulted her naked stomach. "Come on, stop!"

"Make me." Swinging her legs over the other girl's thighs in order to straddle her, Tara smiled as she saw the certain joy running through her girl's green eyes.

"I'll scream!" Still trying to stop the pair of hands tickling her, Willow continued to smile.

"Guess we can't have the whole house thinking that I'm trying to murdering you…" Frowning, Tara's fingers ceased their assault against the red-head's stomach.

"Oh come on, you're gonna start frowning now?" As she looked up at the girl still straddling her, the former Witch smiled.

"But I want to tickle you." Trying her best to maintain the frown while she felt like laughing, the blonde Wiccan leaned down in order to rest her body against Willow's.

"Come on, stop doing that!" Looking away, Willow tried her best not to turn back in order to avoid falling for the way her girl was looking at her. "It's not gonna work!"

"Willow…" Moving her fingers up in order to trace them along the girl's shoulders, Tara saw how hard it was becoming for the red-head not to look at her. "Willow…"

"No, Tara, I'm not falling for it."

"_Willow…" _Letting her fingers retreat down the other girl's chest, the blonde let the digits rest just between the red-head's breasts. "_Oh, Willow…"_

"No…" Her resolve starting to crumble, Willow found it harder and harder to keep her gaze on the lamp sitting next to the bed. With the other girl's fingers still moving around on her skin, she found her mind almost screaming at her to turn her head.

"_Willow…" _Her fingers continuing to move lower and lower until they reached the red-head's belly-button, Tara smiled as she could almost feel her girl's resolve beginning to fade. Letting her finger trace a circle around the girl's belly-button, the digit branched off and finally came to a rest against the red-head's inner thigh. _"Will-"_

"Alright, alright, I give!" Her head snapping around, Willow pressed her lips against Tara's, the reaction shocking the other Wiccan for a split second. Realizing what had happened, the blonde girl returned the kiss, a smile threatening to come to her face as she did so. Her finger still resting against the other girl's inner thigh, Tara finally smiled as Willow broke off the kiss in order to address her. "Just stop teasing me!"

"You mean you don't like being teased?" Replying with mock surprise filling out her voice, Tara curled her finger from where it still lay on the other girl's inner thigh. "I thought you enjoyed it…"

"Tara, stop!" Wrapping her arms around the back of the other girl's neck, the red-head pulled the other Wiccan's head down until their lips met once again. As her tongue slipped its way into the other girl's mouth, Willow felt Tara's finger curl again, remaining in the same place it had been for the past minute, not moving even a single inch.

"Alright, I guess I'll stop…" Pulling away from the kiss, despite the other girl's silent objections, Tara looked down at those green eyes that seemingly refused to move their gaze away from her blue ones. "You're obviously awake."

"What time is it anyway?" Tilting her head in just the slightest sense, Willow's eyes still refused to move away from the eyes that had captured her attention.

"Almost eight." Looking up at the nearby clock in order to make sure she was correct, Tara's gaze returned to the girl beneath her soon enough. "Why? Have somewhere you'd rather be?"

"No…" Smiling slyly, the red-head pressed her lips against Tara's once more. "Trust me, nowhere else I'd rather be."

* * *

"Buffy, come on, I'm gonna be late." As she walked into the kitchen, Dawn yawned. "Not that I care. I'd rather stay home and sleep."

"Too bad, school's important." As she haphazardly threw something into a waiting brown bag, Buffy rushed towards the hallway that connected the kitchen to the rest of the house. "So you're going."

"I remember that you skipped school plenty of times."

"I'm the Slayer, and you're not. Enough reason?" Frowning at the reasoning, Dawn headed towards the door.

"Fine, I'll give you that. Besides, if I'm at school I won't be able to hear what Willow and Tara have been doing for the past hour."

"Dawn, you shouldn't be listening to tha-"

"Buffy?" As she started down the stairs, her hair still somewhat wet from the shower she had taken, Willow nearly stopped as she saw Dawn standing near the door, the younger girl's angry gaze centering on her. "Um…this seems like a bad time, I'll come back later."

"Willow, it's alright. What did you want?" Her words making the other girl stop as she started up the stairs, Buffy gave a short angry look at her sister before her attention turned back to the former Witch.

"Nothing, really it's nothing."

"Come on, just tell us."

"I was…uh, wondering if I could get a ride into town. I wanted to buy some new clothes, since, you know, kinda lacking in that department."

"You could tag along with me and Dawn, and we'll stop on the way back."

"Um, I don't know…" Looking away as she felt the younger Summers girl still staring at her, Willow regretted asking for the lift into town. "I can wait."

"Willow, it would be a waste of gas to make two trips. Just come over to the school with us." Perking up her eyebrow at the other girl's hesitation, Buffy turned her head towards where Dawn was standing. "You don't mind Willow coming with us, do you, Dawn?"

"No, it's fine. I don't care. I'll be out in the car whenever she makes up her mind." Opening the door and exiting the house in one quick motion, Dawn left no room for anyone to reply to what she had said. As the door closed, Buffy's gaze turned back to Willow.

"Guess it's kinda obvious why I wanted to wait."

"Willow, you can't just avoid her. Sooner or later she's going to have to deal with you being back." Sighing, Willow leaned back against the wall behind her.

"Buffy, I tried to turn her back into the Key. I told her that none of us cared about her. I can't even forgive myself for saying that."

"Look, I get it, ok? You don't think she'll forgive you, but she still cares about you. Don't let the way she's acting make you think otherwise."

"Morning." As she walked down the stairs, Tara yawned. Seeing the other girl, Willow smiled.

"Morning…sleep well?" Giving the other girl a quick kiss on the cheek, the red-head continued to smile. Nodding her response, her mind already having caught what the other girl didn't want the Slayer to know, Tara looked at the two other girls.

"I didn't interrupt anything, did I?"

"Nope, nothing at all." Rushing to answer, Willow saw from the way the blonde girl was looking at her that the Wiccan could tell something was wrong. "I'll tell you later."

"Remember, you don't have to lie to me." Kissing the red-head on the cheek, Tara turned her gaze towards Buffy. "Are you going somewhere?"

"Just taking Dawn to school. Willow wanted to tag along and stop at the store on the way back."

"And you weren't going to take me?" Frowning in a playful manner, Tara looked at Willow. "Honey, that's not nice."

"I thought you were still sleeping, that's all, and you looked happy, so I didn't want to wake you up, that's all, and I'm babbling again, aren't I?" Still keeping up the charade that she had started only minutes earlier, Willow smiled slightly.

"You are." Both Buffy and Tara said at nearly the same time.

"Oh, sorry."

"I'm ready to go if you are." Pushing her hands into her pockets, Tara smiled. "I don't really have any money left though."

"Same here." Willow answered as she took the other girl's hand into her own. "Don't worry. We'll figure something out."

"I can loan you some of my paycheck." Grabbing the keys from where they were laying on the table near the door, Buffy opened the door. "…God, that sounds so weird to say."

* * *

"She seems normal." As she watched Willow and the others walk into the school, Amy knew that the entity was directly behind her. "Although why she would go back to the school, I have no idea."

"She's testing herself. Seeing if standing on top of the Hellmouth might weaken her control over the Magicks." Stepping out of the shadows, the figure of Jenny Calendar stood and watched the growing crowd that lay outside of the newly rebuilt Sunnydale High School. "Why anyone would think to rebuild a school in the same place as the first I will never know.

"I never really did find out why they were even considering that." Turning towards where the entity was standing in the shadow, Amy smiled slightly. "Alright, so how exactly are we going to do this spell?"

"It's not the time."

"What?" Her entire expression changing in almost an instant, Amy's eyes grew wide with a small amount of shock. "What do you mean? I'm ready to do it now-"

"And the Slayer is with her. Do you really want to test your odds against her?" Shaking her head slightly, the figure changed into its seemingly preferred figure of Warren. "God, how did you survive being this stupid?"

"Screw off." Turning back towards the school, the teenager caught sight of the vehicle that Buffy and Willow had arrived in leaving the school grounds. "Alright, I think I can try and teleport again."

"Gotta say, I'm getting sick of having to possess you when you want to do that. Learn to do it yourself." Even as the words left its lips, the entity walked towards where Amy was standing and evaporated into the girl's body, the only noticeable difference being the way the teenager was standing. Stepping back into the shadows, the possessed Amy closed her eyes and her body fully disappeared from sight.

* * *

"You're telling me that you wore the same five pairs of clothes every week for five months?" Trying her best to keep her mind focused on the road, Buffy found herself laughing. "Wills, that's a little extreme…and I kinda sound like Cordelia right now, don't I?"

"A little." Still looking out the window at the passing scenery, Willow sighed. "Had other things on my mind besides how I looked."

"Honey, it's alright. It's in the past." Reaching out and resting her hand on the red-head's shoulder, Tara smiled.

"I know."

"Sorry I brought it up." Easing the vehicle to a stop in front of the glowing red-light overhead, the Slayer turned her head in order to look at the other girl. "Probably should have been able to guess about what you meant about wanting to get some more clothes."

"No, it's fine. It was a good question. Let's just keep going." Her eyes never once leaving the world outside, Willow could almost see both Buffy and Tara frowning at her, although each girl remained silent.

"Are y-you sure that it's not a problem to give us part of your paycheck? We could go home and just split clothes if it is." Tara asked, finally unable to stand the silence inside the vehicle any longer.

"Yeah, it's fine. Consider it a gift from me and Dawn." Turning her head back to the road ahead of her, Buffy turned the vehicle off onto the connecting road that led to the store itself. "Although she probably would say it's more from me than her."

"_She hates me."_ Whispering the sentence underneath her breath, the red-head heard nor saw any reaction that would let her know that the other girls knew she had spoken. As the vehicle pulled into the parking lot, her fingers went up to the necklace still around her neck, and she began to play with the chain.

_She hates me. _

"Willow? Hey , Earth to Willow." Waving a green color in front of the other girl's eyes, Buffy stopped once she was certain that the red-head's attention was on her. "Here, have fun."

As she felt the money make contact with her palm, Willow looked down at it, and closed her eyes for a single moment.

"Really, you don't have to do this, Buffy. You're already giving us a place to sleep."

"Take it. Just go get yourself something."

* * *

"What about this one?" As she held up a brightly-colored sweater, Tara could already tell by the somber look on Willow's face that she wasn't fully there. "What's wrong?"

"What?" Shaking her head as she came crashing out of her own thoughts, the red-head looked back at the other Wiccan with confusion drenching her eyes. "Sorry, kinda got lost there for a second. What were you saying?"

"What do you think of this one?" Repeating her question, Tara held the article in her hand higher.

"It looks nice." Her gaze falling away once again, the former Witch felt the other girl's hand on her shoulder almost instantly. "Sorry, I'm not feeling so hot right now."

"The Magicks?" As she heard the question, Willow shook her head.

"No, they're fine. It's Dawnie." Turning her head so she could looked into Tara's eyes, the former Witch frowned. "I don't know how to say I'm sorry to her."

"You just say it, honey. You can't make her forgive you."

"I…I just can't stand the thought of her hating me for the rest of her life."

"She doesn't hate you." Frowning, Tara moved her hand through the ends of the other girl's red-hair. "She's may be angry, but she doesn't hate you."

_Oh, but she does hate you, doesn't she? You tried to turn her back into the Key. _

"What is it? What's wrong?" As she watched Willow press a hand to her forehead, Tara immediately took hold of the other girl's free hand. Her eyes opening, Willow tried to focus on the Wiccan in front of her.

"It's just the Magicks again." Opening her eyes, the red-head flinched as she physically felt pain shoot through her body like a bullet. Sensing the other girl's pain, Tara maintained her grip on the girl's hand.

_RELEASE US!_

"Willow?"

_You know you want to. We wouldn't hurt her. We'd hurt everyone but her. After all, she'd pick up the pieces for you when we're done, wouldn't she?_

"Oh, Goddess, they hurt…"

_Your pain is like music to us, Strawberry. _As she heard the Magicks inside her head taunting her, the red-head heard their voices morph into a single embodiment. Her mind nearly on fire from the pain building inside her, she still managed to remain on her feet. _Music drenched with such delicious Power…_

"Just focus on me." Her fingers tracing a pattern across the other girl's palm, Tara could almost feel Willow's pain through her contact with her. "Focus on me."

* * *

"That's enough, Amy." Her attention drawn away from the subject of her Magicks' attention, Amy could see the entity frowning behind her. "You're going to make her lose control. And that's not how we want to do things."

"I don't know about you, but I'm perfectly fine letting her suffer like this." Smiling, the teenager nevertheless retreated her Magicks' grip into herself. "After all, that's what I'm in this for."

"You'll have your time. Now let's go." Closing her eyes as she felt the entity pass into her body, Amy's form once again disappeared from sight just as it had only minutes earlier.

* * *

"Willow, are you sure you don't want to sit down for a while?" As she looked at the other girl she was practically holding in her arms, Tara saw from the way Willow's body posture had changed that the pain was starting to go away. "You really looked like you were hurting."

"I'm fine, I'm fine." Shaking her head, the red-head handed the small assortment of clothes that she had been carrying to the other girl. "Here, I'm gonna go outside for a while. Do you need the money Buffy gave me?"

"No. Sweetie, are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine. Just a little drained. Give me a sec and I'll be fine." Her eyelids still closed over her green eyes, Willow started to make her way across the floor towards the door. Watching her leave, Tara frowned. _Two times in one week. This isn't getting better. _

* * *

"So, what exactly should I do?" As she looked at the entity standing in the middle of the floor, Amy felt restless. The opportunity to drain Willow of her Magicks had presented itself to her twice, and the entity had refused to give her the knowledge required to fix her connection. "Besides waiting for you to make up your damn mind."

"So impatient." The entity said through Buffy Summers' voice. "Time is something that you just don't understand."

"I understand that you're waiting for something, and you're keeping me in the dark because of it."

"There are things at work that are beyond your childish understanding. You'll do the spell when I give it to you." Answering the teenage Witch, the false figure of the Slayer began to pace around the room. "No sooner, no later."

"And when exactly is the time going to be right for you?"

"Soon, dear Amy." Smiling with its lips full of sarcasm, the entity focused its gaze on the girl. "Does that word work for you?"

Before the Witch could have the opportunity to answer, the entity closed in on itself and disappeared from the room in its usual fashion. As she stood alone in the room, Amy sighed with frustration poisoning her voice. After weeks of waiting, she found herself doing that same exact thing. Waiting.

More than anything else, she was tired of waiting.

* * *

Her eyes closed against the outside world, Willow felt every thought in her mind beginning to slip away. She had taken up meditation in England upon Tara's suggestion, and at times, it made her feel at peace. Or at least the closest thing to that feeling that she could possibly get. The Magicks inside her brain were surprisingly quiet, as if they were able to go along with what the former Witch was trying to do.

Seeing Amy nights ago had awakened something inside the Magicks that had nearly caused them to regain enough of their power to break down the mental barriers placed around her, and take control. The realization that even being close to someone touched by Black Magicks could create that kind of effect within her unnerved Willow. The idea that she could turn back into the black and veiny version of herself caused her to think of Tara, and almost instantly she remembered the mental picture of the girl walking towards her with her cheeks gashed open from the rage she had felt inside.

Underneath where she was sitting, she could almost feel the Hellmouth and all of it's power. The Dark Magicks, although still lying silent inside her brain, began to push against the barrier that she had erected against them. Sensing the change in the dormant Magicks, Willow strengthened the barriers in response. Once again pushed back into their corner, the Magicks still remained silent, although they still continued to push, just as they usually did. Confident that her blocked connection with the Magicks was still secure, the former Witch once again focused on clearing her mind of every stray thought.

As the wind began to pick up around her, Willow raised her head in order to full experience the feeling of the element upon her face. Her hair beginning to fall into her face as result, the red-head breathed in and out, her heart-rate becoming more and more relaxed with each passing second. All around her, the elements showed their connection to her and everything around her. It was exactly as Giles and Tara had described to her. Everything was connected, from the simplest grain of sand to the elements themselves. Any action made by those who lay chained to the Earth would feel their actions return to them triple fold.

As she listened to the wind blowing by her ear, Willow could almost feel the storm that lay just on the horizon.


	10. Escalation

**Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy or any of the characters. They belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.**

* * *

**Chapter 10**

The music still blasting through her headphones, Dawn tapped her pencil against the open notebook in front of her. With the song still playing in her ears, she felt her thoughts struggling to gather themselves into an orderly thing. As usual, she was writing in her diaries in an attempt to rebuild what had once been an entire collection. Even though the memories of all of those things had been fabricated by the Monks that had transformed her into her human form, she still held those things close to her, no matter how false they may have been. Sighing, she leaned into the backboard of her bed and closed her eyes. The music of her CD continuing to move over her hearing, she sighed again.

Things had been so confusing ever since Willow and Tara had returned from England. Neither Buffy nor Dawn herself would admit to it aloud, but Willow was no longer the joyful care-free person that she had once been before…before Glory. That had been the beginning of the end for everything. Everything that followed…the Witch's Magick addiction, Tara leaving, Buffy and Spike, it all accumulated until that day when Warren came into the backyard. Things had been so complicated that none of them had expected it to reach that point. But fate had a funny way of forcing things to hit their lowest point before things could even begin to get better.

More than anything, Dawn wished that things could go back to the way they were before.

"What's the matter, Dawnie?" As she looked up from where she lay on the bed, Dawn moved the headphones covering her ears back onto her neck. "Something bugging you?"

"Willow, leave, _now." _Nearly growling the sentence at the other girl, the younger Summers girl felt fear fly through her as she heard the distinct sound of the red-head laughing at her. She had expected the other girl to leave instantly, given the fact that she had avoided her ever since her return. But to hear the former Witch _laughing_ at her? That was something that she hadn't expected.

"What are you going to do to make me? Scream at me like you always do?" Looking at the girl, Dawn knew that something was slightly off about what Willow was doing. Everything she had seen the other girl do so far since her return from England didn't line up with the scene unfolding in front of her. _Are the Magicks making her go insane?..._

"I'm serious, leave." Repeating the sentence with even more vigor than she had before, the younger Summers girl saw the former Witch smile at her.

"I'm _so_ afraid, really I am." As she finished the sentence, the former Witch's face morphed into an archaic picture of mock shock. "Oh no! Dawn's going to hurt me!"

"Willow-"

"No, I think it's time_ I_ did some talking, little Dawnie, and you can just shut up and listen. You've gotten all of these things off of your chest, so it's about time I do the same." Taking a few steps into the room, Willow smiled at the other girl. "You're such a _brat._ Always complaining about something, thinking that the world revolves around what you feeling. Hate to break it ya, but that's not how things work out in the real world."

"What-"

"Because, you know…" Interrupting the other girl once again, the red-head stopped in her tracks and glared at the younger girl. "We're _all _fed up of it. Tara, Buffy, Xander,_ all_ of us. We have been for a while now. Me going all black and veiny threw some of that off, but it's still there. If you went away, no-one would even notice it. You know why?"

Before she could even begin to come up with a reply, Dawn saw Willow crouch down next to her bed, and smile at her, although the gesture was filled to the brim with poison.

"Because you're a selfish little _bitch." _Spitting every word like it was an individual knife, the former Witch cast her green eyes at the younger girl. "You always have been really."

"Willow. _Get. Out."_

"You want me to go? Alright" Pushing herself back onto her feet, the red-head gave one last smile at the other girl before heading to the door. "See ya around Dawnie. Need anything, I'm right down the hall."

As the room once again became surrounded in the thrall of silence, save for the subdued sound of the younger girl's headphones, Dawn felt shock and hurt working their way into her brain. Every single one of Willow's words repeated through her brain on an endless loop. Feeling a small tear come to her eye, she furiously wiped it away on the back of her palm before throwing the notebook across the room in an attempt to unleash some of the anger she was feeling inside. Ripping the headphones off of her neck, she tossed it and the connected disc-man onto the opposite side of the bed.

As it heard the ensuing chaos ripping through the girl's room, the figure of the red-head smiled and disappeared into itself, leaving nothing behind it but an empty hallway.

* * *

As she looked at herself in the mirror, Willow frowned, noticing how different her reflection had changed from what it had once been. No longer was there the carefree expression and fun-filled eyes looking back at her, those things being replaced with an expression that seemingly belong to someone older than her years, and her green-eyes were seemingly void of any emotion at that particular moment. In a manner of speaking, the old Willow was dead, and had been replaced with someone who wore the same face, looked almost identical in virtually every way, but still was _different._

Sighing, the red-head sprayed some of the running water in front of her onto her face, hoping that it would aid in waking her tired body. As the warm water impacted upon her otherwise cold face, she felt warm ripples move through her skin and down into the rest of her body. She couldn't remember the last time she had woken up feeling so cold, but it was still better than having the usual pains that accompanied that cold. For all she knew, it was just because the Magicks were more active today due to their activities of the past three or four days. Something had been affecting her, trying to make the Magicks break past the barriers and take her over again. And yet, they had stopped just short of achieving their goal.

Resting her head into her hands, Willow sighed again before she heard a knock on the door that forced her out of her thoughts.

"Willow, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just give me a sec, Tare." Allowing herself one last look in the mirror, the red-head smiled once, just to make sure that it still looked real.

* * *

"Morning, Dawn" Lifting her head as she saw the younger girl come down the stairs, Willow offered her a nervous smile. Only casting an angry gaze in the former Witch's direction, Dawn made her way past the other girl into the kitchen. As she saw the other girl's reaction, Willow sighed and leaned back into the comfort of the couch.

"Give her some time." Making her way across the floor, Tara handed her girl one of the glasses she held in her hands.

"There's not enough time in the world." Eagerly taking the offered glass despite her somber mood, Willow lifted the glass to her lips and took a large gulp of the liquid held inside. "Thanks for the orangey goodness."

"You're welcome." Easing herself down onto the couch, the blonde Wiccan gave the other girl a kiss on her cheek. "How are you feeling?"

"Better. I meditated yesterday, and a little after I got out of the shower."

"Did the Magicks try to take over again?"

"Tara, this is what I don't understand. Yesterday, at the store, they felt stronger, like something was giving them some kind of extra strength. But they did the same thing when I was meditating, and I could easily control them."

"You think something is helping them?"

"Maybe." Closing her eyes, Willow sighed. "I'm beginning to think that after this is all over, I should go back to England."

"Do you want to?" Resting her gaze on the red-head sitting beside her, Tara laid her hand on top of the red-head's knee.

"After everything is over, yeah…if you want to go, that is." Smiling, the blonde moved her hand up to her girl's cheek.

"Of course I do, honey. Where ever you go, I'll follow." Opening her green eyes, Willow smiled back at the other girl. "I'll always find you, remember?"

"I remember." As the words left her lips, the red-head felt the Magicks press against the barriers containing them. Closing her eyes, the former Witch strengthened said barriers as she leaned her cheek fully into the blonde's hand.

_Look outside, Willow. I want to play. _As a distinct voice ran through her mind, Willow's eyes shot open.

"Sweetie, what is it?" Seeing the shock that had filled the other girl's eyes up to their very brim, Tara turned her head in order to see what it was that had attracted her girl's attention. Almost instantly, the light outside the window began to grow brighter and brighter. Her blue irises still focused on the growing light, Tara felt something grab her and throw her to the ground at the same moment the window shattered into a million pieces. As the overwhelming sound of an explosion shot through every room of the house, Tara felt the world seemingly fade into black.

* * *

"Having fun?" As she watched the fireball explode into the house, the resulting explosion taking every shard of glass that comprised the window with it, Amy smiled. It had taken hours, but she had managed to find another Magick 'dealer' that had picked up where Rack had left off. With the Black Magicks flowing through her frayed connection, the teenage Witch's eyes glazed over with a pure black color. "I know I am."

"Ok, Amy, attacking my house_, big_ mistake." Turning her gaze away from the living room window, Amy saw the Slayer rushing towards her. Smiling, the Magick infused teenager watched as Buffy lunged for her. Closing her blackened irises, the Witch closed in on herself at the exact moment when the other girl would have made contact with her. As she landed on the ground, Buffy was on her feet again in only an instant. Looking around her, she found herself surrounded by nothing but an empty yard devoid of anything but the smoke rising from the house.

"Running away, Amy? Seems like something you would do."

"I'm not running, Buffy." Hearing the teenager's distinct power filled voice directly behind her, Buffy turned on her heel, her fists already raised and poised to strike. Her fist shooting out, the Slayer felt nothing but air meet her attack. "It's more like playing."

"I don't have time for games, Amy." Turning around again as she heard the Witch's voice, Buffy was confronted once more with nothing but an empty backyard.

"But see, that's the thing." As she hovered above the ground directly behind the Slayer, Amy smiled. "I've got all the time in the world."

* * *

"Tara, Willow?" As she made her way through the smoke filled room, Dawn pulled her shirt over her mouth and nose in an attempt to make it easier to breathe. The floor was covered with scattered shards of glass that cracked with every step she took.

"Dawn?" From somewhere deeper inside the room, the younger girl heard a reply, despite how weak the sound of it was to everything else. Making her way through the partially destroyed living room, Dawn waved away some of the smoke surrounding her in order to make it easier to see. As she made her way past the destroyed end table, she found Tara struggling to get back onto her feet.

"Are you ok?!" Looking back at the younger girl, Tara could barely make out the words over the loud ringing that had filled her ears.

"I think so." Looking down at her hands, the Wiccan could see that they were covered in a slightly warm red color. _No, no…_

"Willow?" As her gaze fell to the other girl lying on the ground, Tara's heart skipped a few beats. "Willow?!"

"Tara, I'm gonna call an ambulance." Shaking the other girl's arm in order to get her attention, the younger Summers girl rushed out of the room. Her eyes focused solely on the red-head lying on the ground below her, Tara dropped back to her knees. Her bloody hands rolling the other girl over onto her back, the blonde pulled Willow's head into her lap.

"Willow, honey, please…wake up…" Her fingers racing to the other girl's throat, Tara felt the chaos around her slip away into the abyss of her mind as she felt the red-head's pulse through her fingers. "Wake up…"

"Tara?..." Her green eyes opening slightly, Willow's fingers squeezed the hand holding her own.

"Just look at me. Keep looking at me."

"Amy…" Tilting her head towards the destroyed window, the red-head closed her eyes for a moment before opening them again. "Outside…"

"It's alright, sweetie, just keep looking at me."

"Are you…hurt?" Moving her body slightly, Willow felt Tara's hand holding onto her own.

"I'm alright." Locking her blue eyes onto the red-head, Tara knew that Dawn had come back into the room with the phone still held in her hands, but her mind refused to focus on anything except the girl she was holding.

* * *

"I mean, come on, Buffy. I spent three years as a rat. I'm on the rebound here." Raising her hand, Amy watched the other girl's eyes grow slightly wider as a fireball emerged from her palm. "So come on, let's do this."

"Amy, l don't know what the hell is wrong with you, but, to be honest, I'm looking forward to kicking your ass right now." Taking a step back in order to let her body drop into her preferred fighting position, Buffy's mind tried to focus on finding a way to hit the Witch hovering in front of her. Attacking the girl head on wasn't going to work, so the question was how stop the disappearing act she was pulling.

"There's nothing wrong with me, Buffy. I just wanted to play with Willow. It's fun, seeing her squirm because she can't use Magick. Tell me, were you prepared to kill her when she was evil? Were you?"

"I did what I had to."

"That's not the question though, isn't it?" Still holding the fireball above where the Slayer was standing, Amy smiled. "So why don't you answer me?"

"I was. I did everything I could to make sure it wouldn't come to that."

"There, was that so hard?" Closing her palm and extinguishing the fireball, Amy closed her eyes. "See ya later, Buffy."

As the Witch closed in on herself and disappeared, Buffy turned and ran back into the house. The smoke that had been a side-effect of the fireball had begun to evaporate back into the air outside, leaving the destruction that had filled the living room in plain-sight.

"Willow, Tara?" Shouting out the girl's names as she made her way through the door, the Slayer already knew that her sister was fine, considering that she had been with her in the kitchen when the fireball had slammed into the house.

"In here!" Hearing Dawn's voice, Buffy made her way into the partially destroyed living room.

"Everyone alright?"

"Willow's bleeding…" Unsure of how else to describe what was happening, Tara's eyes never once lifted from the red-head that she was holding onto.

"Did you call…"

"Already did, they're on their way over here." Still holding the phone in her hand, Dawn returned to her feet. "Tell me you got Amy."

"I didn't. That's not important right now."

"Buffy-" Already starting to respond, Dawn turned as she heard the unmistakable sound of a siren echoing down the street. The words to the response dying on her tongue, the younger Summers girl set the phone down onto the nearby table.

"Tara, look at me." Kneeling down beside where the Wiccan was holding onto Willow, Buffy could already see the blood that had begun to fill out the floor underneath where the red-head was lying. "She's going to be alright."

"Buffy, she's bleeding…" Her voice barely a whisper, Tara's eyes refused to look at the other girl beside her. "She's bleeding…"

As the ambulance came to a stop outside the house, the entire house around the Wiccan became a blur as she saw and felt someone taking Willow away from her. Turning her head, Tara could once again see Buffy and Dawn's mouths moving, but the words refused to enter her ears. Shaking her head, she closed her eyes and pressed her back against the couch. _She's bleeding…_

* * *

"Is she going to be alright?" As she leaned against the glass at her side, Buffy knew that the Wiccan behind her was barely managing to hold herself together. They had been at the hospital for almost an hour now, and every moment had made its way past like each one had been an hour in itself.

"From what we've seen, she's suffered a few burns and there's still a few shards of glass in her back, but we're still working on getting those out of her."

"Alright." Raising her gaze from the scene unfolding in the E.R., Buffy sighed. "Can you let us know if anything changes?"

"Of course. Excuse me." As he left the room, the Doctor left the five remaining Scoobies sitting in silence. The mood through the room was understandably somber, although Dawn tried her best to remain distant from said mood.

"Tara, how are you holding up?" Turning her head in order to look at the girl behind her, the Slayer smiled slightly.

"Fine." Her blues eyes fixed on the red-head lying just behind the glass, Tara's face appeared to be only moments away from crying. In many ways, it reminded Buffy of how the girl had looked the day her family had come into town with the intention of taking her home. It was a look of pure devastation.

"She's going to be fine."

"She saved me." Her gaze still refusing to address the other girl, the blonde Wiccan sighed. "She threw me to the ground before Amy attacked the house."

"I don't know about anyone else here, but I think finding Amy should be our top priority right now." Looking across the room at the remaining Scoobies, Buffy took a step forward in order to stand in the middle of the waiting room.

"Buff, we don't even know what she can do, apart from the whole fireball thing that you explained. You told us that you couldn't even hit her head-on." Looking up from his seat, Xander folded his hands together. "I'm thinking that making with the whole Slaying thing isn't the best idea right now."

"It's the best one we've got."

"I agree with Xander. If this Amy has Dark Magick, she might be as bad as Willow was." Sitting beside her boyfriend, Anya shared his expression. "And we couldn't beat her then."

"We need to at least find out what she's trying to do. Attacking the house didn't do anything except almost kill Willow, and royally piss me off."

"And Amy wants to make Willow use Magick again." Speaking up, Tara finally turned away from the scene behind the glass for a split second in order to address the Slayer. "She tried to hurt _me._"

"That makes sense!" Shooting out of her chair, Anya's face grew excited as a realization came to her mind. "Hurting one lesbian makes the other one go evil!"

As every set of eyes, apart from Tara's, turned towards her, the vengeance demon shrugged. "We were all thinking it."

"But why does Amy even want Willow to go all black and veiny?" Raising her head from where it had been looking at the floor, Dawn's voice seemed strangely emotionless. "Apart from making her try to kill everyone."

"Maybe it's not just Amy, it could be..." Her mind finally beginning to put the pieces together, Buffy's eyes filled out with the sense of realization that she felt. "Wait...Tara, Willow said there was something in her dream? Something that could change who it looked like?

"Yes, that's what made her decide to come back. She thought that she could help you find out what was going to cause the prophecy to come true."

"I've seen that look before, you're thinkin'" Getting out of his seat, Xander shoved his hands into his pocket.

"Wait, it was in her dream?" Her own mind continuing to move forward, Anya furrowed her brow.

"And when Amy did the whole disappearing act at the Bronze, I've seen that before…oh, god…"

"Buffy, what is it?" Her attention fully perked, Dawn took a few steps towards her sister.

"Guys…" Her eyes penetrating every person in the room, Buffy's mind finally put the last piece into place. "It's the First…"


	11. Uninvited

**Oh god, this chapter is so long! XD Sorry, but this is an extremely important one, so excuse the length**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy or any of the characters. They belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.**

* * *

**Chapter 11**

"_What?" _Disbelief filling out his voice, Xander took a few steps of his own towards where the Slayer was standing. "But we already beat the First. Remember, there was the whole thing with Ethan Rayne choosing us as champions because he wanted the First's power, and we had to find all these body parts…"

"That has to be where Amy is getting her power from." Her mind still putting together a larger picture, Buffy's gaze fell to the ground. "It has to be controlling her somehow."

"But why would the First want to make Willow go dark? Besides the whole fact that it wants to cause destruction and pain everywhere it goes."

"Could have something to do with the whole prophecy thing Giles and Angel warned us about."

"Buffy, I think maybe we should get Giles on the horn. He might be able to dig up some kind of kryptonite we could use against Amy, if she's really under the First's evily control."

"I think he's right." Nodding, Anya continued to watch the scene unfolding in front of her. "We've gone up against some big ones in our time, but I don't think we can take the First on head on."

"Done it before, remember…in the way that it was possessing Ethan Rayne...but that's beside the point." Perking up her eyebrows, Buffy nevertheless moved towards one of the nearby payphones. "I'll call him though."

"Excuse me, but is there a Ms. Tara Maclay here?" Stepping into the room, a different Doctor than the one that had been by before looking at the crowded waiting room.

"I'm her." Turning away from the window, Tara crossed her arms across her chest nervously. "Is Willow alright?"

"She's out of surgery, but she's still asleep. She's going to be fine. She's lucky that there wasn't as much blood loss as there could have been. Having glass embedded in your back isn't something that is recommended as a fun time."

"Can I see her?"

"As I said, she's still asleep, but considering that you're the only next-of-kin that she has listed, I suppose it's alright. If you'll follow me..."

"Go ahead, we'll wait out here." Nodding, Buffy cradled the phone between her shoulder and her ear. "If she wakes up, she'll want to see you first."

Returning the nod, Tara followed the Doctor as he led the way down the hallway that seemingly lacked any distinctness. After what seemed like an hour of walking, they arrived at a plain white door. Gesturing towards the inside of the room, the Doctor allowed Tara to enter first. As she took a few anticipation filled steps into the room, the blonde Wiccan knew that the sight that would greet her wouldn't be the happiest one. Still, when she saw the other girl laying in the bed, her red-hair flowing down until it met the white medical garb, she felt something inside her break.

Shutting the door behind her, Tara took a few caution filled steps to the side of the bed. There was a chair waiting there, and as she set herself down into it, the Wiccan looked at the other girl. Aside from the various medical instruments hooked up to her, she appeared to be fine. Smiling slightly, the blonde took the other girl's hand into her own. Wrapping her fingers around the former Witch's digits, Tara felt a single tear fall from her eyes, the drop making it halfway down her cheek before she wiped it away.

"Aww, is little Tara crying over me?" Lifting her eyes from the red-head's hand, Tara's heart dropped to the very pits of her stomach. Standing only a few feet away from her was a mirror image of Willow, although her entire body was covered in the same black attire that she had been wearing after she had absorbed the Black Magicks from the books. "I'm_ touched."_

"You're not Willow."

"Am I?" Rolling her black eyes, the mirror image chuckled slightly. "How can you know? After all, I'm a part of her, aren't I? I'm just simply buried in her mind, behind barriers that she wasn't even strong enough to set up by herself."

_"Get out."_ The way she snarled the words surprising even herself, the blonde Wiccan squeezed the real Willow's hand even tighter as she stood up.

"I don't think I will. Don't worry, I'm not going to have my precious Amy come after you. I think she's already done her job for the moment." Stopping on the other side of the bed, the doppelganger looked Willow up and down. "I'm kinda skinny.

"You know, Tara, you can't stop what's to come. Even she knows that. But she stills thinks that maybe the Slayer can change that, simply because that's what she's done before." Her gaze falling back onto Tara, the doppelganger smiled. "She loves you."

"Leave." Still glaring at the First's illusion, Tara felt Willow squeeze her hand back, although no other sign of being aware of what was going on around her came from the former Witch. "Now."

"Being bossy there, that doesn't seem like something that Tara would do." Stepping back from the bed, the First gave a smile at the Wiccan before changing into a form that caused the girl's eyes to grow wide with shock.

"Mom?" Even though her mind screamed that it wasn't the woman that she knew, Tara's heart fluttered as her eyes trailed over every inch of her mother's face.

"Hello, honey." Smiling at the younger Wiccan, the entity's eyes seemingly were filled with nothing but what could be described as pure evil. "I see you're still being useless."

"You're not her, stop it." The strength in her voice rapidly faltering, Tara squeezed Willow's hand as hard as one could without the bones breaking. "Leave."

"Such strength, and yet, it's not exactly that. It's _fake."_ Obeying the Wiccan's command, if only for its own amusement, the First transformed into Warren's form. "Remember me? You know, the whole bullet in the shoulder thing? Sorry about that by the way, guess Willow didn't like it."

"Leave." The word beginning to lose some of its strength, Tara knew that she wouldn't be able to keep herself under control for much longer. "Just leave."

"Alright, alright. Jeez, I come here in peace, and you just throw me out. Typical woman." Taking a step back, the First smiled once more before it closed in on itself and disappeared. Her eyes staring solely on the space that had only moments before been occupied by the source of evil, the blonde girl closed her eyes for a moment as she felt tears beginning to work their way up through her system. She had been prepared to see the darkened version of her girl, but seeing her mother had been a curveball that she hadn't expected.

The room was completely silent now, with only the sounds of the heart-beat monitor interrupting the silence. Easing herself back into the chair behind her, Tara rested her free hand against her forehead as her body started to shake from the sobs that she was barely keeping restrained inside of her. The blood that had stuck to her palms earlier had been washed off as soon as the doctors had looked at her, but it still felt like it was there, staining her skin. Willow had actually _bled_ for her. As the memory of what it had felt like to see the other girl lying on the floor bleeding finally broke the barriers that the Wiccan had placed around the tears, and they finally escaped from her eyes and charged down her cheek.

"Tara?" Turning her head, the blonde Wiccan could see Willow's green eyes weakly looking back at her. The tears still streaming down her face, Tara buried her face into the red-head's chest, and let everything she felt inside of her out into the open. Her confused and tired mind barely able to recognize what was going on, Willow laid her hand on top of Tara's head. Her hand still holding onto the red-head's, Tara was glad that she had shut the door on her way in, sparing anyone outside the image of her state.

"Tara…it's alright…" Her tone sounding as tired as she appeared, Willow looked down at the girl crying in her arms. "It's…alright."

* * *

"So, the First…this thing can change into other people?" As she asked the question aloud, Dawn couldn't help but remember the images of Willow visiting her the previous night. _Was it even her?..._

"Yeah, it likes to play mind games with people." Still pacing around the waiting room, Xander's mind raced with images from his encounter with doppelgangers in the First's home dimension. "Gets a kick out of doing it, I guess."

"And you've seen it do this?"

"Once, but then again, it was in its own dimension, so maybe it was real, for them."

"Dawn, what are you trying to say?" Looking up from where she was holding the phone, Buffy eyed the younger girl curiously.

"I…I might have seen it…in my room last night."

"You _what?" _ Raising her head completely, the Slayer's attention was fully drawn towards her sister. "Dawn, what did it do?"

"It was Willow, and it just…talked to me. I told it to leave, and it left."

"Buff, I'm no expert, but I think having the First inside your house is not a good thing." As the dry joke passed his lips, Xander shoved his hands back into his pockets. "Do you think there's some kind of spell that…"

"No." Shaking her head, Buffy seemingly knew what the other Scooby was going to suggest. "We are not having Tara or Willow do Magick inside the house. It might make her go Dark."

"I kinda agree." Nodding her head slightly, Dawn closed her eyes. "There's gotta be something we can do though."

"If Giles would ever pick up the phone, I would ask." Pressing the receiver back against her ear, Buffy groaned. "Come on, pick up already!"

* * *

Days passed before the doctors finally agreed to release Willow into Tara's custody, even though the former Witch was of legal age to sign herself out. As she rolled her eyes from where she was sitting in the wheel-chair, the red-head felt her girl rest her hand on her shoulder.

"It's only until the doctors are sure that you didn't hurt your back."

"I can't believe this is a real policy!" Crossing her arms across her chest, Willow morphed her lips into a pout. "This is so stupid!"

"Someone's grouchy today." Smiling slightly, Tara continued to push the other girl towards the exit. "It can't be that bad."

"The food sucks." Still pouting, the former Witch squirmed slightly as the bandages still attached to her back started to itch. "I want chocolate chip pancakes."

"If I make some for you when we get home, will you stop being a brat?" Saying the term with a certain playfulness to her voice, the blonde Wiccan pulled the wheel-chair to a stop only a few feet from the entrance to the building. Stepping around the chair in order to prop open the door, Tara continued to smile.

"Oh, trust me, you haven't seen Willowy bratness yet!" With the doors safely propped open, the Wiccan returned to pushing the other girl down the connecting handicap ramp. Managing a smile as the sun shown down upon where she was sitting, Willow heard the other Wiccan chuckling.

"I'm afraid, I truly am." Returning the smile, the two Wiccans found Xander waiting for them in front of the stairs.

"Good evening, ladies. A drive around the park?" Bowing while speaking in a faux British accent, Xander couldn't keep himself from grinning as he looked at Willow. "I could tie a rope to the back of the car and you could hold on."

"Funny. I almost forgot to laugh, Xander." The pout resuming its control over her lips, the red-head leaned back into her wheel-chair. "Can we just go home?"

"Sure thing." Moving towards his oldest friend, Xander moved his hands behind her as he helped her to her feet. "Just gotta get you in the car."

"I'll get the wheel-chair." Opening the door to the car, Tara gave her girl one last smile before she turned away. _If she can stop being a brat, maybe this day can get better…_

* * *

"It's time, Amy." As it appeared in the Witch's room, the First saw the girl struggle to her feet. Using so much of the loaned Black Magicks had effectively drained the girl of her power, although it would return with the proper care.

"Time for what?" Rubbing her hands up and down her arms, Amy's mind was just beginning to come back to its full speed. A few hours of sleep hadn't done much for the girl after the attack on the Slayer's house, and she hadn't dreamed.

"To do what you've been waiting for." As she realized what the First was trying to imply, the teenage Witch's eyes lit up. "We're going to fix your connection."

"Alright, I'm ready."

"You look like you've seen better days." Looking the girl over with the disdainful eyes of the Slayer, the First nevertheless took a few steps towards where Amy was standing. "But you'll do."

* * *

"This is still ridiculous." Groaning as the other girl helped her out of the wheel-chair, Willow felt her body scream out in relief as the mattress met her sore back. "I can walk perfectly fine."

"It's just to be sure." Pulling the sheets overtop of the other girl, the blonde Wiccan smiled. "Explosions don't sit well with you."

"I still think I should be allowed to get around without it." Frowning, Willow leaned her head back into the soft pillow behind her. "Not that I don't like getting Tara-care."

Leaning down, Tara kissed the other girl on her forehead.

"Just try to get some rest. I don't want you going to the hospital again."

"Trust me, no desire for that either." Smiling at her as Tara left the room, the red-head closed her eyes as the lights were turned off, plunging the room into darkness. The storm outside continued to pick up strength as the wind and rain poured against the house and the nearby window. Sighing as her sore body began to relax, she felt someone else enter the room.

"Hello, Willow." Turning her head, the red-head already knew the body that the voice belonged to.

"Amy?" Her green eyes looking around the room, Willow couldn't see anything in the darkness apart from the small instances where the lightning from the outside illuminated the room. Struggling to pull her aching body up into a sitting position, the former Witch was just about to call out Tara's name before she felt something cold press against her lips.

"Don't try it. We both know what would happen if dear, sweet Tara got hurt." Looking up at the head only inches from her own, Willow found herself peering into Amy's blackened eyes as a bolt of lightning flashed outside. "And we can't have that, can we?"

"Amy, what do you want?"

"Isn't it obvious? I want to _hurt_ you." Moving away from the former Witch, Amy smiled. "And you've got something I want."

"Wha-" The words dying in her mouth as she realized what it was that Amy was talking about, the red-head's eyes grew even wider with shock. "No, Amy, you don't want them."

"I think I do." As the lightning outside flashed again, Willow looked up at the figure standing behind the other girl.

"Amy, the First is controlling you, it's not right. I've fought the First once before, it lies, it makes everything-"

"Oh, enough with the babbling, Willow. I can make this really quick, but I'm probably not going to. Trust me, I like seeing you squirm." Taking a few steps towards Willow, Amy continued to smile. Her pupils completely becoming overcome with the black color that accompanied those who were in the sway of Dark Magicks, the teenage Witch placed her hands on both sides of the red-head's face. Trying her best to dislodge the girl's grip on her, Willow only found her sore body refusing to answer her.

"_Spiritus tenebrarum, oro _

_Meam omnimodam potestatem et facultatem ad me." _

As she said the words to the Dark Magick infused spell, Amy closed her eyes as she began to feel the Magicks inside Willow's brain moving to the forefront of the other girl's mind.

"Damn it, Amy, stop!" Screaming the words, Willow felt nothing but pain circulating through her body as the Magicks broke through the barriers inside her mind. As the Magicks spread out through her mind, gradually beginning to take control, the red-head screamed one more time as enough strength poured into her arms to throw the other girl off of her. Slamming into the opposing wall, Amy laughed as she shrugged off the attack.

"Somebody's angry." She said, chuckling slightly as Willow buried her head into her hands. "What's the matter, Willow? Are they hurting you?"

_Ah, finally. We'll have to thank her before we kill her. _

_"BUFFY!"_ Screaming out the Slayer's name, the red-head tried with every shred of strength that remained in her body to force the Magicks back. Feeling pain swarming through every inch of her skin, Willow felt something snap inside of her brain as the Magicks full took control of her. Looking up from her hands, the Witch turned her attention towards where Amy was still standing silently, watching the entire affair. "I swear I'm going to kill you."

"That doesn't sound like something good little Willow would do." Chuckling, Amy took a single step towards the other Witch before she felt something slam into her chest, forcing her back into the wall and holding her there.

"Good little Willow isn't here right now." Smiling at the teenager, Willow's eyes flooded with the same black color that the blonde girl's eyes held._ "I_ am though."

_"Willow?!"_ As both the Slayer and Tara called out the red-head's name from behind the locked door, the Witch rolled her eyes.

"Guess I'll have to make this quick since they're here now." Holding out her hand to the other Witch's head, Willow smiled. "I can still have fun with this though."

"I don't think so." Holding out her palm, Amy summoned a fireball that began to burn away a portion of the wall holding her. Rolling her eyes, the red-head waved her hand and extinguished the flame. At that same exact moment, the door to the room flew off of its hinges as Buffy rushed into the room. Following her, Tara looked around the room until her eyes settled on Willow.

"Willow?"

"Don't worry, honey, I'm just wrapping up a few things." Smiling at the other girl with her eyes still blackened, Willow's eyes turned towards the Slayer. "Same for you, Buffy, I've got this under control."

"Willow, put her down, you're not thinking straight."

"Actually, I'm thinking straighter than I have in a while." Still holding Amy to the wall with her Magicks, the red-head continued to smile. "I feel better now that I don't have to control anything."

"Buffy, that's not Willow. It's the Magicks." Stepping back, Tara's voice was filled to its brim with shock and fear. "Don't hurt her."

"Tara, baby, what's wrong? Don't like how I'm all powerful again? Whatever happened to 'I'm under your spell'?"

"Willow, let Amy go. I'll deal with this." Taking a step towards where the Witch was standing, Buffy knew from the other girl's appearance that the Magicks hadn't completely taken over her yet. "Let us help you."

"See, I don't need help. I feel better than I have in months."

"Alright, I've had enough of this." Materializing to everyone else in the room, the First took a step into Amy's body. As the entity took control of the girl's body, it's hand shot out and grabbed Willow's head. "_Da mihi virtutem inimici implexae, Et interficite eam connexionem."_

With the lightning outside striking at the same moment the spell was finished, Willow felt her body being thrown back against the opposite wall. As she landed on the ground, she screamed as her hands flew to her head. Turning over onto her back, she pulled up her shirt in order to place her hands on the portion of her stomach where the skin seemed as if it were burning. Looking down at the exposed skin, the red-head's green eyes grew wide with shock as she saw the same pattern that had been painted onto her during the Coven's rituals. Pulling themselves out of her body, the Black Magicks connected with a virtually identical form coming out of Amy's body from where she was still standing against the wall. Looking on, the First smiled.

"_And so the prophecy comes to pass." _

Her eyes looking up to the pure amount of Black Magicks coming out of her, Willow felt as if her entire body had been set ablaze. In many ways, it reminded her of the pain that she had felt during the Rituals in England, the only exception being the intensity of the pain was triple fold from what she had already felt.

"Tara, tell me you have an idea of what's going on…" Looking on from where she was standing, Buffy knew that she didn't want to see what would happen if she tried to disrupt the flow of Magicks between Willow and Amy.

"I don't know…" As the two girls continued to watch the scene, the Magicks flowed down to the floor, their black mass beginning to form what appeared to be a pair of shoes. With each passing second, the mass began to look more and more like a person. "But I don't think it's good…"

"_And the darkest of arts will be unleashed upon the Earth, separated from its true host, the Voyager."_

As the mass finally reached the head of the body it had been making, both Buffy and Tara's hearts dropped to the bottom of their stomachs as they recognized the face.

"Oh god, Willow…"

"_The Voyager shall arise in the form of a savior, one who has done the most unbelievable acts of heroism. But from the inside she shall rot, and in the time of Darkness, the Power hidden inside her shall break away from their prison, and engulf the world into pure darkness." _The mass of Magicks finally ending their task of creating a body, the streams disconnected themselves from both Amy and Willow. Retreating into the body they had created, the mirror image of Dark Willow smiled.

"_Ah, to be free. Can't tell ya how that feels." _The voice that emerged from the body's mouth was virtually identical to Willow's, although it's tone was laced with a massive thread of Darkness that undoubtedly stemmed from the Magicks themselves. _"Being trapped inside a brain does crazy things to ya."_

"That can't be…" Unsure of what she was seeing, Buffy saw the body turns its gaze towards her.

_"Oh, but it is. You know that, Buffy. Tell me, does this feel real to you?" _Raising its hand, the body summoned a spell from inside of it. As the green light shot out of her hand, it slammed into the Slayer in the blink of an eye. Her body thrown against the wall behind her, Buffy felt every muscle in her body scream out in pain as she landed on the floor in the connecting room.

"_Guess it does." _ As Dark Willow's blackened eyes turned towards her previous host, the Witch saw the red-head trying to get onto her feet. _"How are you feeling, Willow? Better?"_

"It's gone, it's gone…" Mumbling underneath her breath, Willow fell back onto the ground as if her body were refusing to respond to her commands. "Bad Magicks took all the badness away…"

"Willow, sweetie?" Rushing to the red-head's side, Tara helped the other girl onto her feet. "Honey, look at me, come on, look at me!"

"_I'm afraid that she's not completely there anymore, Tara. Comes with having your Magick connection ripped out of you." _Laughing, Dark Willow looked down at her nails. _"Right now she should be feeling a little out of it."_

"Mommy, all the bad things are gone." Looking into Tara's blue eyes, Willow continued to babble underneath her breath, her eyes refusing to focus on a single point of the other girl's face. "Bad Magicks all gone…"

"What did you do to her?!" The mix of anger and fear swimming inside her body forcing her to speak, Tara looked at the mirror image of her girl.

"_Made her what she really is without Magick. Just a frightened little girl. You should enjoy it, considering that she'll act like you're her mommy." _ Looking out towards the storm raging outside, Dark Willow smiled. _"Oh, we're going to have so much fun. But there's a time and place for everything. I'll be seeing all of you around. But first, I'll do something that Willow wanted to, since she did hurt me as well."_

Taking a step towards where Amy was trying to get back onto her feet, the mirror image grabbed the girl's face, and began to chant. As a small light began to emerge from Amy's chest, she screamed out until the sound of her voice had tampered off to nothing. The task done, Dark Willow let go of the girl, and let her lifeless body drop to the floor. Giving one last look at both Tara and Willow, the Dark Witch closed her eyes and disappeared from the room.

"Buff, are you alright?" Rushing into the room, Xander nearly jumped through the hole in the wall to reach where the Slayer was still lying. Still holding onto Willow, Tara looked into the girl's green eyes and saw how blank they had become.

"Willow, please, just talk to me."

"Everything…" Her irises focusing for a split second, the red-head's mind forced the concentration to leave. "No Magicks anymore, all gone. Good, bad, all gone..."


	12. Aftermath

**I'm really glad to see my twist worked XD Hopefully none of you saw it coming.**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy or any of the other characters. They belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.**

* * *

**Chapter 12**

"Well, Ms. Maclay, I can't truly say what's wrong with her." Looking down at the newly arrived results, the doctor shook his head. "There doesn't seem to be anything wrong. Her mind is functioning perfectly, and aside from a few bruises, she's physically fine. You said she doesn't have a history of any previous mental problems?"

"No." Shaking her head, the blonde Wiccan spared herself one look at Willow before turning back to the doctor in front of her.

"Then I'm sorry to say that I don't know what's wrong with her, apart from the fact that she doesn't seem to be entirely competent. She should be fine."

"But she's not…" Lowering her gaze, Tara sighed. "Can I take her home?"

"Given the state she's in, I'm not entirely sure that would be the safest thing-"

"Please?...We've been through a lot today." Looking up at the doctor with her blue eyes, the blonde Wiccan knew that she had already started crying, but she was powerless to stop herself. "Please?"

"…Alright." Sighing, the doctor removed a piece of paper from the bottom of his clipboard, and presented it to the girl. "Sign here. I'll have the nurse bring you a few pills that should keep her calm, just in case anything goes wrong. I recommend that she just rest, and avoid any unnecessary stress."

"Thank you." Taking the offered clipboard and pen, Tara quickly signed her signature and gave the object back to the man.

"You're welcome. Try to get some rest, Ms. Maclay." Resting his hand on the Wiccan's shoulder for a moment, the doctor offered her a small smile before turning to leave the room. "You look like you could use it."

Only nodding in response to the man's statement, Tara turned back to where Willow was lying on the bed.

"Are you feeling any better, honey?"

"Bad Magicks gone…" Smiling slightly, the red-head bobbed her head up and down before her green eyes caught sight of the lights on the ceiling above. "Feel empty…"

Frowning, Tara sighed and helped the other girl back into the waiting wheel-chair. The hospital had agreed to once again loan the two Wiccans the same wheelchair that Willow had used just only the previous day. As she eased the red-head down into the chair, the other Wiccan wiped some of her tears away onto her sleeve.

"Lights everywhere…" Closing her eyes, Willow leaned back into the chair as Tara continued to look at her. "Tara…"

"At least she knows your name." Looking in from the doorway, Buffy frowned. "Tara,…I'm sorry."

"It's alright. I just wish I knew how to make her better." Still crying, Tara sat down onto the open bed behind her. Seeing the condition the other girl was in, Buffy entered the room and eased herself down beside where the Wiccan was sitting.

"Tara, we're going to find out what the First did to her, and we'll fix it." Trying to smile, Buffy only managed to summon a small grin. "It'll be alright."

"Is this what she felt like after what Glory did to me?" Turning her head in order to look at the Slayer, Tara wiped her eyes again with the back of her sweater. "Did she feel this helpless?"

"I don't know. I wasn't in any position to tell." Her gaze falling down to the floor, the Slayer wrapped her arms around the other girl as she pulled her into a small hug. "It'll be alright."

"Tara…" Observing the whole scene, Willow frowned slightly. "Tired…"

"Let's get her home. We'll find out something, Giles might know something that could help." Disengaging herself from the other girl, Buffy got back onto her feet. "Are you ready to go home, Willow?"

"She won't answer you." As if to prove her girl's point, Willow stared blankly back at the Slayer. "Willow, are you ready to go home?"

"Tired…" Replying to what Tara had said, the red-head closed her eyes as she leaned further back into the wheelchair. "Magicks…gone…"

Returning to her feet, Tara moved herself behind the wheelchair and pushed it towards the open door, her tears still showing no sign of stopping. Seemingly aware of the other girl's tears, Willow weakly reached up and touched the Wiccan's hand with her fingers.

"…Darkness gone, like mice."

* * *

"God, why isn't he picking up?" Slamming the phone down onto the receiver, Buffy considered ripping the object from the wall, but restrained herself. _One less hole in the wall is better for everyone. _

"Giles still not answering?" Looking up from the paper she had been doodling on, Dawn heard her sister sigh in response.

"Sighing. The Slayer's replacement for the word 'yes'." His head still resting on the countertop, Xander felt Anya rubbing his back, but he didn't do anything in response.

"There must be some kind of connection problem. Tara did say the Coven was in a really secluded part of England."

"Can I just say that I can't believe this is happening?" Raising his head, Xander looked around at the other Scoobies in the room. "We're all sitting around here acting calm while we have a clone of Willow running around, and the real Willow is upstairs with insane on the brain."

"Xander-" Starting to interrupt, Buffy found herself confronted with a glare from her friend.

"We should be out there looking for this thing, and destroying it. Who knows, maybe if we do that, it'll make Willow go back to normal…"

"That usually doesn't work, honey. When you destroy a part of someone, they usually just go even loopier than they were before they were split." As she saw all of the eyes in the room turn towards her, Anya sighed. "Why is it that I'm the one who always gets the angry stares?"

"Point is, we're sitting around here doing nothing." Getting out of his seat, Xander looked at the Slayer. "Buffy, making with the Slaying would be the right thing to do right now!"

"Where would we start? It was bad enough when it was just the First we were up against. Having a clone of dark and veiny Willow? That's something we need to think about."

"Thinking? That's what you want to do?! What happened to the 'Me slay, you read and research'?" Rolling his eyes, Xander turned and rested his head against the nearby wall. "I hate all of this waiting around for something to happen."

"And you think I don't?" Crossing her arms across her chest, Buffy closed her eyes. "Stuff's a lot simpler when it's 'find the bad guy and slay him'."

"Anya, do you still have any of the books left over from the store?" Dropping the pen onto the counter as her mind started to work in rapid order, Dawn looked across the island towards where the vengeance demon was sitting.

"A few. Willow didn't leave much unburned the last time, along with most of my money. I can look though."

"No offense, but what are we going to look up? I doubt we're going to be able to go to the index and look under 'F' for 'The First'." Turning around, Xander ran a hand over his tired face. "God, how can this be anymore unfair?"

"We've gone up against this thing once before, remember? All we need to do is find out how to fight it."

"Not to burst your bubble, Buff, but again, there's the whole evil Willow still running around out there." Sighing, the man looked at the Slayer with his exhaustion clearly beginning to show on his face. "Maybe we should get Tara on getting that shield up around the house."

"Give her some time. She's been with Willow ever since we got her home."

"I take it that Tara didn't take the whole 'Willow makes about as much sense as a fruitcake' thing?" Rolling her eyes even as she heard the room go silent, Anya sighed. "There you go again, looking at me like I don't know what I'm saying."

"No, she didn't. She hardly said anything on the way home, even to Willow. She's hurt, but I don't think she wants to show it to us." Shaking her head, Buffy moved back towards the phone. "I'm going to call Giles again, maybe he'll answer this time."

* * *

As she looked at the sleeping girl lying beside her, Tara knew that she had been crying again, considering that the pillow beneath her was slightly damp. Willow had calmly fallen asleep only an hour after they had arrived home from the hospital, and hadn't need any of the pills that Tara had been given by the doctors. To look at the red-head, there appeared to be nothing wrong, and yet, Tara knew that having the Black Magicks ripped from her had done_ something._

Hearing murmurs from the sleeping red-head, the blonde Wiccan looked up in time to see Willow rolling over onto her opposite side. Her body tossing and turning, the former Witch shook her head slightly, although she still didn't awaken from her dream.

"Willow?" Reaching out and laying her hand on the other girl's cheek, Tara saw her girl calm down slightly, but she still remained asleep. "You're going to be ok…"

Squirming slightly, Willow pushed herself closer to the other girl. Smiling at the gesture, the blonde Wiccan wrapped her arm around the other girl's waist.

"You're going to be ok…" Repeating the sentence, Tara felt another tear fall from her eyes before it slid off of her wet cheek and landed onto Willow's face. Stirring in her sleep, the red-head gradually opened her eyes. As she stared up at the other Wiccan with her green eyes, Willow's expression remained as blank as it had been during the ride back to the house.

"Willow, honey?" Looking down at the other girl, Tara felt something reminiscent of hope slip into her heart as her girl stared at her.

"Kitty cats scurrying everywhere…" As the words left her lips, the blonde girl felt every shred of hope inside her fall into pieces. Frowning, Tara sighed.

"Just go back to sleep." Pressing the girl's head against her shoulder, the Wiccan closed her eyes. "You're alright."

"Tara…" Opening her eyes as the other girl said her name, Tara looked down into those emotionless green eyes, and saw yet another flicker of the girl underneath. "…Magick."

"There's no more Magick, honey. Just go back to sleep."

"Barriers all broken, Magicks hurt…" Burying her head into the other girl's shoulder, Willow closed her eyes. "Hurt…"

"Sweetie, y-you're fine." Laying her hand on the former Witch's hair, Tara gave the girl a kiss atop her head. "Nothing can hurt you while you're with me."

"Warm…" Curling herself into her girl's warm embrace, Willow smiled slightly. "Safe and warm…"

* * *

"So what are we going to do?" Watching as the Slayer slammed the phone back down onto the receiver, Xander was growing more and more frustrated with simply just sitting around waiting for something to happen.

"I'm going to call Angel." Already knowing the effect that the sentence would have on the other Scoobies, Buffy kept her gaze on something else. "We're going to need help."

"So calling Dead Boy is going to be our line of defense? Great plan." Rolling his eyes, Xander ran his hand over his face again. "Buffy, I don't think we need to have him here."

"And I suppose you have a better idea of what we should do?"

"Maybe I do." His tone filling out with concern, the Scooby took a step towards Buffy. "Because I do know that the last time he was here, he made with the fangy and trying to kill all of us."

"I _killed_ him, Xander. Do you even remember that?" The tone of her voice flooding with resolve, Buffy stood her ground. "Do you? I remember that you were all for me killing him. Remember that?"

"Buffy, I'm not saying that you didn't-"

"But you're saying that you don't want him here because of your childish little grudge." Shaking her head slightly, the blonde girl took a step forward in order to come face-to-face with the other Scooby. "Get over it."

"You know what, fine. Call him. But if he even so much as looks at one of us with that fangy look in his eyes, he's going down."

* * *

It had been hours since they had laid down together, and still they were only staring at each other. Blue irises met green ones, the minds behind those eyes each knowing who the other was. Hours and hours of memories passed through the minds' eyes, and each brought a smile to the other's face. For a single minute, Willow looked at the other girl with her mind seemingly clear, before her doppelganger's spell forced her brain back into its confused state.

Watching her girl's green eyes, Tara continued to hold the other girl close to her, showing her that she was safe.

* * *

"Last step…" As she helped Willow down onto the main floor of the house, Tara saw Buffy and Dawn already sitting around the table in the living room. Smiling as she saw the red-head, the Slayer tried her best to act as if nothing was wrong.

"Morning, Willow." Waving at the former Witch, Buffy didn't expect an answer from the girl, considering the response that she had gotten the night before at the hospital. As she stared back blankly at the other girl, Willow's hands continued to grip Tara's as the Wiccan led her into the room.

"Is she still not talking?"

"Only to me." Shaking her head, Tara reached out and pushed some of the girl's red-hair out of her face. "She looked at me last night, and she was_..._Willow, but then she was gone again."

"We're going to fix her, Tara, I promise."

"I know." Even though she knew that the Slayer's promise would eventually come true, Tara's blue eyes still held the same overwhelming amount of sadness that they had filled up with at the hospital. "Do you have anything that I could feed her? Something that's…_not_ a solid?"

"I think there's some apple-sauce in the kitchen somewhere. Help yourself." Turning back to the open laptop in front of her, Buffy watched as Dawn's fingers moved effortlessly across the keys. "Are you sure that we can find something out about the First by doing this?"

"Googling something is worth a try."

"Come on, honey, let's get you fed." As she led the red-head into the adjoining kitchen, the blonde Wiccan felt the other girl leaning her head onto her shoulder. Her eyes still staring blankly ahead of her, Willow nevertheless kept moving, proving that her mind was still working on its most basic levels. She had been almost completely silent ever since Tara had woken up and found her staring at her. The sight would have been a welcomed one in the past months, but seeing it now only reminded the other girl of why she had effectively cried herself to sleep the previous night.

Easing her girl down into one of the scattered chairs surrounding the island that lay in the center of the kitchen, Tara made her way over to the various cabinets that lay attached to the walls. Searching through them, she found the package of applesauce in the back of the soup cabinet. _Dawn, you need to change your hiding places…_

"_Air like nectar, thick as Onyx. Cassiel by your second star…" _Turning around as she heard the other girl mumbling underneath her breath, the blonde Wiccan furrowed her brow as she struggled to hear what Willow was saying. _"Hold mine victim as in tar…" _

As she heard the spell the other girl was mumbling, Tara made her way towards the red-head and took a seat next to her. Turning her head as she felt the other girl touch her arm, Willow stopped mumbling once she saw that the blonde Wiccan wanted to say something.

"Honey, you can't do spells anymore." As Willow stared blankly back at the girl talking to her, her emotionless eyes took on a sad quality to them. Sighing, Tara gave the girl a kiss on her cheek before turning her attention back to the applesauce she was still holding in her hands. "Open up."

Opening her mouth as the other girl brought the spoon near her lips, Willow swallowed the food without a single sound. Her green eyes staring back at the other girl, the red-head mumbled something underneath her breath. _"I conjure thee by barabbas, by satanas, and the devil…"_

"Willow, stop, you can't do those."

"_As thou art burning, let Oz and Veruca's deceitful hearts be broken…" _

"Willow." Setting the applesauce down onto the counter beside her, Tara pressed her hands against either side of the girl's face. "You can't do spells anymore. There's no Magick inside you."

"Magicks all gone?" Frowning, Willow looked at the other girl with her emotionless eyes.

"Magicks all gone." Nodding, Tara sighed and closed her eyes. "Finish the applesauce, honey. After that, you can go back to bed."

"Tara…forever." Smiling slightly, the red-head opened her mouth as the blonde Wiccan held up a spoonful of applesauce to her lips. Sighing again, Tara repeated the process until nothing remained within the container she was holding. Continuing to stare blankly at her, Willow's mind tried to come up with something to say that would make sense, but upon drawing blank after blank, she remained silent. Looking back at her girl, Tara frowned and pressed the back of her sleeve against her eyes as she felt more tears starting to work their way through her system. She couldn't remember ever crying this much, not since the night she had left Willow, although she had managed to hold herself together just long enough to get to the Dorm room that the two of them had still paid for, even though they had started living at Buffy's house weeks after her death.

"How's she doing?" Turning her head, Tara saw Dawn standing in the doorway, her blue eyes watching the two girls with genuine interest.

"Fine. She doesn't talk much." Making sure that there were no tears in her eyes, the blonde Wiccan smiled at the other girl. "Do you wanna talk to her?"

"Really wouldn't be any point to that, would there?" Crossing her arms over her chest, Dawn laughed nervously.

"Dawnie, it's alright, she's still Willow. She can understand what we're saying."

"_This way. I conjure thee by the saracen queen…" _Starting to mumble again, Willow saw Tara look at her, and she stopped as soon as she had begun.

"What did she say?" Eying the red-head curiously, Dawn continued to keep her distance from the two other girls.

"She keeps mumbling spells, even though she can't do them. I think it's how her mind is reacting to having her connection stripped away." Reaching out and resting her hand against Willow's cheek, Tara kept her eyes on where Dawn was standing. "Just come talk to her."

"Tara-"

"Dawn, it might help. You have no idea how much she wanted…_wants_ you to forgive her."

"Easier said than done." Even though her words showed how much hesitation there was inside her mind, the younger Summers child took a step towards where the two Wiccans were sitting. As she took the open seat next to where Tara was sitting, she looked at the red-head who was still staring at her.

"Um…hi, Willow?" Giving the former Witch a small wave, Dawn only saw the girl stare back at her. No other response, no words, no return wave, just her staring at her with those emotionless eyes. "Tara, are you sure she knows what we're talking about?"

"She can understand, she just won't talk. Just keep going."

"Willow…I'm sorry you're like this…I know you want me to forgive you, but I…I don't think I can…" Her gaze dropping away from the former Witch, Dawn's mind continued to struggle to find the right words to say. "What you said to me that day…do you even know how much that hurt me? You said that no-one cared about me, that all I was doing was whining to you and everyone else. I know it was because you thought Tara was dead, but still…it _hurt."_

"Dawn-"

"It hurt to think that you, of all people, didn't care about me." Looking down at the ground below her, Dawn felt something wet fall down her cheek before it hung around her chin. "Willow, I thought you loved me…

"I thought you cared about me. All those months were Buffy was gone, and you and Tara were the only ones here…I thought you loved me." As more tears began to fall from the other girls eyes, Dawn reached out and pulled the red-head's body to her. "I'm sorry…"

"Dawn…" Unsure of what to say, Tara watched as the red-head's hands came up and placed themselves on the other girl's back. "I think she heard you."

"Lights look pretty…" Her green eyes looking up at the light-bulb hanging from the ceiling, Willow's hands flew back to her side in an instant. "Lights warm…"

"She really acts like she heard me."

"Dawn, she _did_ hear you. Didn't you feel her hugging you?" As she watched the other girl get up and move towards the doorway, Tara sighed. "I told you she wouldn't talk to you."

"Tara…" Turning her head back to the red-head in front of her, the blonde Wiccan felt the other girl lay her head into her lap. Resting her hand on her girl's head, she sighed.

"You heard her, didn't you?" Forcing a smile to her lips, Tara moved her fingers through the locks of red-hair sitting peacefully in her lap. "Are you feeling any better?"

"Sunshine whispers…" A smile of her own coming to her lips, Willow snuggled her head deeper into the other girl's lap. "Moonlight comes together."

"Let's get you back to bed." Her forced smile still adorning her face, Tara moved to stand up until Willow's body shot straight up. Her green eyes flooded with fear, the red-head's fingers gripped the other girl's shirt.

"The moonlight and sunlight don't like to play together, but they have to!" Her voice raising in volume, Willow's mind struggled to force her point into the right words. "They _have_ to!"

"Tara, is everything alright in there?" Yelling out from where she was still sitting in the living room, Buffy looked at Dawn as she reentered the room. "What did you do?"

"Wasn't my fault." Holding up her arms, Dawn looked at her sister with genuine innocence on her face.

"Mummy, they have to come back inside!" Shaking her head somewhat violently, Willow's voice only continued to grow more and more frantic. "We have to make them come inside before it rains!"

"Honey, it's alright, just calm down." Reaching out, Tara pulled the other girl's body to her own and pressed the girl's head to her shoulder. "It's alright."

"Make them come inside!" Her arms momentarily trying to free herself, Willow finally gave in and started to cry. "Make them come back!"

"Tara, what's wrong?" Entering the room, Buffy's eyes went from Tara's face to the girl crying in the Wiccan's embrace. "What happened?"

"She just freaked out. I'm going to take her to bed." Starting to stand up with the crying red-head still held in her grip, Tara pressed her lips against the girl's head. _"Sssshhh,_ stop crying."

"Should we do anything? I mean, the doctors did tell you to make her take those pills if she started going nuts."

"I'll give them to her, they're up in the room." As she started to move towards the connecting hallway with Willow still crying in her arms, Tara gave one look at the Slayer with her saddened blue eyes. "We have to help her soon."

"Tara, we will, I promise."

_"Come inside! Come inside!"_ Still shouting, the red-head virtually began to collapse into the other girl's grip._ "Make them stop!"_

"I think I really should get her back to bed." Moving towards the staircase without any further argument, the blonde Wiccan felt the crying red-head starting to calm down somewhat, although her tears continued to stain her shirt. Watching silently from her seat in the living room, Dawn looked away, unsure of what to feel about what was happening.

Moving up the stairs in short order, the two Wiccans made their way into the darkened bedroom. Still fighting the other girl's grip slightly, Willow's tears had gradually begun to slow, although they still hung around her chin as she and Tara walked. Helping her girl onto the bed, Tara frowned at the red-head's tear stained cheeks.

"Honey, stop crying, please."

"Make them stop…" Looking up at the other girl with her teary green eyes, Willow nevertheless tried to stop herself from crying. "Make the pain stop…"

"Here, take these." Offering the medicine to the other girl along with a slightly warm glass of water, the Wiccan saw the former Witch simply looking at her with a confused look in her expression. "Open your mouth."

Obeying the order, Willow closed her mouth after Tara had placed the pills gently onto her tongue. Holding up the glass of water to the other girl's lips, the blonde Wiccan felt a small sense of victory inside her as she saw and heard the red-head drinking the offered liquid, the water obviously taking the pills down into the girl's stomach. Her green eyes still staring blankly at her girl, Willow leaned back onto her side.

"Try to get some sleep, honey. The pills will make you feel better." Reaching out and pushing some of the girl's red-hair back behind her ear, Tara leaned forward and pressed her lips against Willow's forehead. Her green eyes closed, the former Witch appeared to be somewhat at peace, even though the other Wiccan could almost sense the conflict that was going through her mind.

"Moonlight…sunlight…together…" Whispering a final few words, Willow's breathing became more and more relaxed as her mind drifted into a medicine induced sleep. Watching her soul-mate slowly falling asleep, Tara's mind focused solely on the girl in front of her, and for a single moment, the world around her slipped away into the abyss. For a single moment, she felt peace again.


	13. The Waiting

**Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy or any of the characters. They belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.**

* * *

**Chapter 13**

"Angel? It's Buffy…" As she heard the line on the other end pick up, the Slayer felt her heart skip a few beats inside her chest, just as it always did whenever she even thought about the sound of the ensouled vampire's voice.

"Hey…" _Can we please get past the awkward portion of the conversation?..._

"That whole prophecy thing you called us about? It's here."

"What?" Even through the phone, Buffy could almost see the vampire's entire expression change as he listened to her.

"And trust me, it's a biggie." Leaning back against the wall behind her, the Slayer sighed. "It's the First."

"The same thing that tried to get me to walk into the sunlight?"

"Very same. And it's got a friend with it. It kinda ripped the Magicks out of Willow, and created a separate being, basically we have a real Willow and a black and veiny clone running around."

"You have _what?" _

"Look, it sounds crazy, I know, but it's the truth. Angel, I saw the thing with my own eyes. It threw me through a wall, which I'm still a little bit sore over."

"Buffy, did it mention it anything about a voyager? This is important." Although she heard something cover the mouth-piece of the phone on the other line, Buffy could make out the words being said. "Wesley, hurry up and get over here!"

"The First did, something about a prophecy coming true. That was right before it threw me through a wall. Look, Angel, I'd kinda appreciate some back-up up here. Trust me, I think we're a little out-numbered up here."

"Buffy, I'll be there. I'm yours, until the end. If there's a fight, I'm going to be there with you."

"…Thanks, Angel, I…I appreciate it." _Keep talking, just keep talking… _"Anyway, how soon do you think you can be here? I mean, granted that there's nothing apocalypse-y going on down there."

"Soon. There's something I have to do first."

"Alright. We're not going anywhere." Hearing the line on the other end cut off, Buffy sighed and placed the phone back onto the table. Her fingers already reaching for the dialing buttons, she knew that eventually, she was going to get through to Giles, and hopefully get some information on how they were supposed to fight both the First and a Darker version of Willow.

* * *

As he set the phone back down onto the receiver, Giles sighed. It had been only hours since the Coven had informed him of a large shift in the Magicks that they had removed from Willow. The Dark Magicks had begun to change, to shift into something that they couldn't properly describe. It was as if they had become something entirely separate from what they had been upon their removal from the former Witch.

It couldn't be just a mere coincidence that this had all started upon his discovery of more information regarding the prophecy that appeared to be dead-set on unleashing itself in Sunnydale. He couldn't properly understand how he had overlooked the particular volume that he had found the essential information in, considering that he had read over the book numerous times in the past. Part of him felt foolish for overlooking the information. Time was an important matter at the moment, and every minute he wasted was another minute that Buffy and the others could be in danger.

Unsure of why the instinct to look up came over him, the Watcher cast his gaze towards the nearby door. The room around him was silent, with not even the sound of the wind outside penetrating the stone walls. And still, something seemed…off. He couldn't quite place his finger on the reason why, but his instincts seemingly were trying to tell him something.

"_Giles?"_ As the sound of the familiar voice flowed through the door, the Englishman's mind became suddenly alert to the difference the air now held. Something was manipulating it, controlling it, making it their own. His instincts telling him to react too late, the Watcher was flung from his chair as the doorway itself exploded in a combination of shattered wood and light. The stone floor meeting his back, the man gave a groan of pain as he struggled to focus his vision in the chaos that had engulfed the room.

"_Hey Daddy, I'm home."_ Standing in the destroyed doorway, the figure's form finally began to become more and more visible to the Watcher from where he was laying on the ground_. "Miss me?"_

Coughing as he struggled to his feet, Giles' hand searched the ground near him for his discarded glasses. His eyes still intently staring at the figure standing only a few feet away from him, the Englishman's mind already had pieced together the voice that belong to the dark figure, but he firmly refused to believe what consequences would come from realizing such a thing.

"_Not even a hello? I'm hurt." _Making its way across the distance between itself and the Watcher, the dark figure sighed. _"I thought you loved me, Giles. Like I was your daughter or something."_

His fingers finally finding his glasses, Giles pushed them onto his face within mere seconds. His pupils looking up at the figure now standing over him, the Watcher managed to push himself back onto his feet without the involvement of the figure. As he stared down at the slightly shorter figure, the Watcher found himself taking steps back towards the table that lay on its side.

"_What's the matter, G-Man? You look like you've seen a ghost." _

"Willow?" Unable to find any other words to say besides the figure's name, the Englishman felt his back collide with the overturned table.

"_Not quite, but you're close. I was here with her the whole time. Every single thing you said and did, I was there to hear and see."_

"The Coven…"

"_Afraid they're not home right now either. Seems like they didn't take too well to having all those Magicks drained out of them. So it's just you and me." _As the figure of Dark Willow smiled, she could almost sense the small amount of fear inside the man standing before her. _"We're gonna have some fun, just you and me." _

* * *

"Giles, is answering the phone such a huge thing?" As she slammed the phone down after hearing the dial-tone for the umpteenth time, Buffy closed her eyes and sighed in frustration. After trying numerous times to reach her former Watcher and failing, she was beginning to wonder if somehow he already knew and was on his way back.

"Still no answer?" Opening her eyes, the Slayer found Tara making her way into the room, the exhaustion on the girl's face clearly showing. Still, it made Buffy feel somewhat better to know that Tara had managed to get some sleep the night before. Willow had been extremely calm since her melt-down inside the kitchen, although the seemingly insane babble that she had worded continued to echo inside the other Scoobies' heads. Something had set the former Witch off, strongly enough that she had tried to make sure that everyone else had understood her.

"None. Something's not right, it's like the line's permanently busy on the other end." Her blue eyes' gaze falling to the floor as she heard the other girl's answer, Tara again looked utterly exhausted. "How's Willow?"

"She's fine." Looking up from the floor, the Wiccan sighed. "She hasn't said anything since I gave her the medicine yesterday."

"I guess that's a little good, considering how she kinda got a major case of the wiggins out there the other day."

"Do you think it means anything?" As she voiced the question, Tara ran over Willow's words once more in her head. They had to mean _something…_

"Whatcha mean?"

"I don't know, it seemed like she was trying to tell me something, something that she was afraid of."

"And I take it that you don't think she was thinking about frogs?"

"I think she was trying to say something about the Magicks."

"Magicks? As in the stuff she can't do anymore?" Her eyebrows still perked in a questioning manner, Buffy pushed herself onto her feet. "Tara, I think that might be the part of her that's still hurting over this."

"How can we be sure though? Shouldn't we look into this?" Shaking her head, Tara's eyes were focused solely on the Slayer. "Buffy, there's a chance that she might be telling us something that we just don't understand."

"I can ask Giles about it whenever we get through to him, but I think we should be prepared to find out if it's just insane Willow babble." Frowning as she saw the effect her words almost instantly had on the other girl, Buffy made her way around the table until she was standing directly in front of the blonde Wiccan. "Tara, I'm not saying that you might not be wrong, but we have to be prepared."

"I understand." Nodding, Tara's gaze fell away as she turned around and headed for the kitchen. "I'm gonna get a few things for Willow. Let me know if you reach Giles."

"Will do."

* * *

As he crashed through a combination of the window and wall, Giles felt every muscle and bone in his body wanting to break and wither. Almost instantly standing above him, the figure of Dark Willow smiled as she looked down at him.

"_Oh, come on, Giles, you're going out on me already? We haven't even really started yet!" _That grin still spreading across her face, Dark Willow reached down and picked up the man with relative ease. _"And trust me, I've still got plenty of steam to use."_

"So…have…I..." Forcing his hand to curl into a fist, the Watcher felt some satisfaction as the digits slammed into the Witch's face, causing her to drop him.

"_There we go, get the fire out. We've both got some issues to work out here, don't we?" _Smiling despite the obvious pain that had been inflicted on her, Dark Willow ran a hand over the spot where the man had hit her. _"And we're not leaving until we get these kinks ironed out."_

Ignoring what the Witch had said, Giles struggled back to his feet and ran towards the open doorway. Rolling her eyes as she watched the Watcher flee, Dark Willow sighed.

"_Come on, Giles, do we really have to do the chase thing?" _As she followed the man out the destroyed doorway, the Dark Witch watched as he fled down the hall and turned the corner. _"I mean, I'm game for it, but it kinda seems a little...stereotypical." _

Sighing, the Dark Witch started after the man, her feet hovering about the ground as she kept her black eyes focused on where the man had disappeared to.

"_Besides, not many places you can run to…"_

* * *

As she watched Tara enter the room, Willow's eyes remained as emotionless as they had been for the past forty-eight hours of her life. The being trapped inside her brain could have screamed at her body to tell Tara what was wrong, but given her doppelganger's spell over her, that person seemingly was no longer in the body she once inhabited.

"Morning, sweetie." Saying the greeting with a unavoidable lacing of sadness to her voice, Tara tried her best to force a smile to her face. "Are you feeling any better?"

"Sunlight makes the grass smile." Screaming out in frustration inside her mind, the blonde Wiccan wished that the girl could speak to her, if only for a moment, just to tell her how to fix things. "It makes everything smile and be happy."

Her smile fading somewhat as she heard the insane babble coming from her girl, Tara set the cold glass of water onto the table beside the bed. Easing herself down onto the mattress where the other girl was still laying undisturbed, the Wiccan took the container of pills into her hand.

"Just take your medicine, and you can go back to sleep if you want." Opening the container, the blonde girl saw Willow willingly open her mouth as she waited for the other girl to place the medicine on her tongue. Sighing as she did so, Tara took the glass of water and offered it to the red-head. "Do you want to go to sleep?"

"Not tired…" Shaking her head, Willow smiled at the other girl. "Tara…"

"What is it, honey?" Resting the fingers on her free hand against the red-head's cheek, the blonde Wiccan saw her girl smile at her.

"Tarahand…"

"We're going to make you get better, sweetie. I promise." Moving her fingertips up in order to touch her girl's red-hair, Tara saw the other girl's green eyes momentarily flood with warmth and understanding before they were forced to return to their ever-present emotionless state. "I promise."

"Moonlight hurts people…"

"What are you talking about, sweetie? You keep mentioning sunlight and moonlight. What do you mean?"

"Sunlight helps people, but leads to moonlight being mean and hurting people…"

"You mean the Magicks, right?" Resting her hands on the red-head's shoulders, Tara stared into the girl's green eyes in search of any sign of understanding. "Willow, you need to tell me what you mean."

"Moonlight likes to hurt people, but is jealous of Sunlight. Sunlight has more friends to play with in the sky…" Feeling a small amount of frustration beginning to build up inside her, the blonde Wiccan forced herself to take a deep breath. Willow was obviously trying her best to try and let her know something, but the words were obviously covered in the product of her dark doppelganger's spell. To find out what the red-head was trying to say would most likely give a clue as to how to bring the former Witch back to her former self.

"You're saying that the Moonlight and the Sunlight are the Magicks? The Dark and the Light?"

"Moonlight kills the grass, and all its friends. Moonlight hurts people, causes nasty, nasty, nasty scars. Blood…"

"Willow?" Turning her head as she heard someone say her girl's name aloud, Tara saw Xander and Anya standing in the doorway to the room. "Sorry, hope we weren't interrupting."

"Treachery!" Pointing her finger at the man standing a few feet away from her, Willow's green eyes became awash with anger. "This mind remembers of the treachery caused by the skunk!"

"What is she talking about, using treachery and…skunks?" Staring at the red-head with confusion controlling her expression, Anya stayed a step behind Xander.

"She's just upset, maybe you should come back later." Sighing as she realized that any chance of breaking through the mind trapped by the Dark Witch's spell was gone for the moment, Tara got back onto her feet. "She just took her medicine, and she gets a little drowsy."

"So much treachery!" Her angry green eyes still visibly ripping the man to shreds, Willow tried to get onto her feet until she felt Tara's hand gently push her back down into the mattress beneath her. The anger she felt still refusing to subside, the former Witch retained her glare on Xander. "Treachery makes us feel angry!"

"Again, she's talking like we've betrayed her or something…" Still standing confused behind Xander, Anya looked at the red-head with a somewhat frightened look in her eyes. "Is she insane?"

"She's not insane!" Glaring at the vengeance demon, Tara kept her hand on Willow's chest in order to prevent the girl from possibly lunging at the two people standing in the door. "Anya, you're upsetting her, maybe you should come back later."

"Well, I could tell that we're upsetting her, I just want to know whether or not she's gone…completely wacky in the brain." Glaring at the girl beside him as he heard the words leaving her lips, Xander pressed his hand against the vengeance demon's mouth.

"Alright, that sounds like a plan that would benefit all of us." Taking a step back from the doorway with his hand still placed over the girl's mouth, Xander offered Tara and Willow a nervous smile. "Maybe she'll be calmed down by then…"

_"TREACHERY!"_ Screaming out the word, Willow renewed her attempts to rise up out of the bed she was laying on. Having to place her other hand atop the girl's chest in order to reinforce her hold on her, Tara focused her blue eyes on the red-head's angry green irises.

"Willow, sweetie, please calm down. Xander's going away, alright?"

_"TREACHERY!"_ Thrashing slightly underneath the blonde's grip, Willow stared up at the other girl with the angry look still controlling every inch of her face. "He has betrayed us!"

"Sweetie, he's not here anymore, just look at me. You're safe…"

"Betray…" Staring up into the blonde's blue eyes, the former Witch started to calm down slightly, although her arms continued to try to free herself, albeit with less strength than they had had moments before. "He betrayed us…like the moonlight and sunlight…"

"It's alright, no-one's going to hurt you when I'm here." Kneeling down onto her knees as she saw that the other girl wouldn't try to get up anymore, Tara sighed and pushed some of her girl's red-hair out of her face. "Ok?"

"…Skunk betrayed us, made us feel like the Cat had come…" Nodding even as she continued her insane babble, Willow closed her eyes. "Made us tired…"

"_Sssshhh,_ it's alright, sweetie. Just go to sleep." Shushing the other girl, Tara leaned forward and gave the red-head a kiss on her forehead as an attempt to calm Willow down even further. The action working, the blonde Wiccan was rewarded with the sight of the red-head's breathing beginning to become more and more normal and relaxed. Smiling slightly as she saw her girl beginning to fall asleep, Tara continued to stroke Willow's red-hair as she waited for her to fall asleep.

_She meant something by saying Moonlight and Sunlight, we just have to figure out what…_

* * *

"_Fee, fi, fo, fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman…" _Still taunting the Watcher as she followed him through the walls of the Coven's sanctum, the figure of Dark Willow smiled. _"Come out, come out, wherever you are, Giles. I just want to play with you." _

As he continued to lay in wait behind the stone wall that he had taken momentary shelter behind, Giles could feel his heart wanting to explode inside his chest. It had been much too long since he had been forced to push his body to its utter limits in order to survive. He knew that even stopping for a single moment could be the end of his attempt for escape, especially when taking into account he was completely weaponless. In comparison, the odds were clearly stacked against him, something that, while seemingly normal given the many dangers he had faced within the span his previous years of being a Watcher, was not something he was found of being in at the moment.

"_Come on out, Giles, I'm sad. I haven't seen you in a few weeks, and I got lonely of not seeing my favorite Watcher." _Hearing the Dark Witch continuing to taunt him, the Watcher turned his head to the right, seeing that there was a door that led deeper into the castle itself. The only problem seemingly lie in reaching the object without being seen by the Witch still moving through the room. There was sweat beginning to roll down his forehead, threatening to stain his eyes as he struggled to remain alert. Taking a deep breath in an attempt to stabilize his heart-rate, the Englishman silently counted to three, and then rushed for the door.

"_There you are!" _Her black eyes focusing on the man running away from her, Dark Willow smiled. _"Guess we're playing the tag game again." _

His hands clutching the door-knob with enough strength that he felt a pain shoot through his arm, Giles threw the door open and rushed down the connecting hallway. He knew every stretch of floor within the castle, and knew that he could use that knowledge to his advantage. If he could simply get outside, or to the vehicle that lay levels down from where he currently was, he could escape, and then catch the next plane back to Sunnydale. He had no doubt that whatever had occurred atop the Hellmouth, Buffy and the others would need his help…if they were even still alive…

Casting a gaze over his shoulder as he ran, the Watcher saw the Dark Witch slowly falling him, like a cat would toy with a mouse that it was hunting. The girl was still hovering above the ground, the Dark Magicks that were flowing through her veins almost visible to the naked eye. Whatever Willow had found in Sunnydale, it had been enough to destroy the barriers in her mind, and force Dark Willow's return. For both of their sakes, Giles hoped that it wasn't too late to break through to the sensible girl still inside the Witch's mind.

Stumbling for a slight second, Giles quickened his pace as best he could, his heart continuing to beat faster and faster. As he turned the corner and Willow disappeared from his sight, his eyes looked around at the various decorations surrounding the walls, although none of them could even be considered for use as a make-shift weapon. Hearing the small sound of electricity gathering, the Englishman turned his head in time to see a ball of lighting shoot out of the Witch's hands and fly towards him. Ducking as he continued to run, Giles felt the ground shake as the ball slammed into the wall beside him. The aftershock of the explosion nearly causing him to fall to the ground, he nevertheless continued to run, knowing that stopping for even a moment's time would be all that Willow needed.

"_Giles, I'm getting bored…why don't you just stop and we'll talk to each other…in the way that I'll show you what my Magicks can really do, and you'll sit there and take it all…" _Rolling her blackened eyes once more, Dark Willow gathered the forces necessary to compose another lightning ball. _"Sounds like fun, doesn't it?" _

* * *

"Alright, so how are we doing on the gathering of forces thing?" As she entered the kitchen, Xander saw Dawn and Buffy both hunched over the open laptop in front of them.

"Angel said he would be here tonight, 'cause you know, he doesn't really do the whole traveling in the sunlight thing." Looking up from the screen for just a moment, the Slayer gestured towards an unoccupied chair near where she and her sister were standing. "Other than that, we're still alone on this front."

"Great, cause nothing says 'We're screwed' like being outnumbered by something we can't even really touch properly, and it's evil, veiny lackey." Leaning back into the chair, the male Scooby reached over and took one of the apples sitting on the counter. "And I don't think chucking apples at them is a valid defense tactic."

Snorting in response to the other Scooby's joke, Dawn continued to make her way through the page she was looking at. She had been searching, unsuccessfully, for any information regarding the First, and considering the extreme vastness of websites that came up with a search of simply "The First", progress was slow. Buffy's repeated calls to Giles hadn't yielded any results yet, although the Slayer continued to try undaunted. Giving up wasn't an option at the moment, considering what could happen at any moment that those opposed to them could decide to launch an all-out attack on the house, killing anyone inside without hardly an resistance.

For a single moment, part of the girl wished that Spike were here, but as the memories of what he had tried to do to her sister flooded back into her mind, the younger Summers child shook her head and continued on with her research. Her attention focused solely on the newly arrived Scooby, Buffy made her way around her sister and came to stand beside the man.

"We're going to need anyone we can get. I'm still trying to get through to Giles, but he hasn't picked up, or the line is busy. Whatever happens in England with phones and such."

"He's probably already on his way over here. Maybe the Coven did some kind of sense-y thing, and he got the message about what happened."

"Maybe. I just hope we can get in contact with him soon, I'd rather have everyone on our side over here as soon as possible."

"We're gonna win this, Buf. We've done crazier things before." Reaching over and taking the Slayer's hand into his own, Xander offered the girl a small grin. "And besides, the First doesn't know who it's messing with."

Smiling back at one of her oldest friends, Buffy laughed slightly.

"I hope you're right. Because I'd rather not have the First know that I'm scared. Show weakness to something, and it'll walk all over you."

"But you're not gonna let it do that?"

"No, I'm gonna let it swallow me. And I'm gonna make sure it chokes on me."


	14. Gone

**Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy or any of the characters. They belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. **

* * *

**Chapter 14**

"_Come on, Rupert, like I've told you before, Little Willow's gone all pro now." _Smiling at the Watcher as she continued to hover above the ground, Willow saw the glint of fire that filled the Englishman's eyes as he held the fire poker in front of him like a weapon. _"Besides, are you really going to risk killing or injuring me? What would Tara or Buffy say?"_

"They would no doubt forgive me when the circumstances were explained." Raising the poker behind his head as he charged towards the Dark Witch, Giles felt his muscles grind to a stop as the dark-haired girl held out her hand in front of him.

"_Blah, blah, blah. Words don't really mean anything unless you back them up." _Swiping her hand in the air, Dark Willow watched as the former Watcher was flung across the room like a child's rag-doll. Landing particularly hard on the stone floor, the man nevertheless began to struggle back onto his feet. Observing all of this, the Dark Witch smiled. _"Oh, so you've still got that fire burning in you after all._

"_Let's see if we can't burn that flame out." _

* * *

"Moonlight all bad now, hurts the Sunlight's friends…" Continuing to shake her head even as the other girl tried to calm her down, Willow kept her green eyes shut out against the room around her. "Hurts the grass and burns it all like the setting sun!"

"She still freaking out?" Standing behind where Tara was kneeled beside the bed, Buffy sighed with a frown on her face.

"She won't stop." Her heart breaking inside her chest, the blonde Wiccan rested her hand against the red-head's cheek, hoping that it would encourage the girl to stop. "I don't know why, but something upset her again."

"Is it possible that maybe she can still sense the Hellmouth and everything? Having your Magick ripped out of you can't do wonders for your brain and senses."

"Kittens all mad and hurt over being hurt!" Shaking her head despite the presence of Tara's fingers resting against her cheek, Willow tried to move, even though the Wiccan's hand still held her down to the mattress beneath her. Her eyes still firmly shut, the former Witch whimpered slightly as if she were in a great deal of pain. "Too much pain and suffering from Moonlight, and so much more to come!"

"Buffy, she's trying to tell us something." Turning her head so that she could look at the Slayer, Tara felt more and more resolve regarding the matter sink into her voice. "We have to find out what she's trying to tell us."

"Tara, I don't think she means anything by what she says." Taking a step forward so she could kneel down beside where Willow and Tara were, Buffy frowned. "We don't know what the Magicks did to her when they were ripped out of her."

"So you're saying she's insane, and that we should _ignore_ her?" As more tension sank into the situation, the blonde Wiccan's voice reflected the change in atmosphere. "Buffy, we can't just give up on her!"

"I'm not saying that we are, Tara, but we need to be realistic. We have the First and a dark and veiny version of Willow gunning for us now. We need to be on our guard, not chasing after something that might not be there for us to find."

"Buffy, she _has _to be telling us something. It _has _to mean something." Shaking her head slightly as she closed her blue eyes, Tara laid her head down onto Willow's hand. "You have to be trying to tell us something."

"Moonlight made Tara sad…" Frowning, the red-head kept her green eyes on where Tara had laid her head. "It hurts everyone, makes the Sunlight sad and go away because it has to hide…"

"Tara, I'm sorry. I told you, we're going to help her. We'll make her get better."

"But you don't want to believe that she's trying to help us do that!"

"I'm not saying that, but we need to-"

"Buffy, Willow's tired. I'm going to try and get her to sleep. Can you leave?" Obviously masking her desire to make the other girl leave, Tara returned to her feet and looked down at the red-head, somewhat happy that she had calmed down somewhat since she had stopped mumbling. Knowing what the girl truly meant, the Slayer headed for the door, giving the two Wiccans one last sad look before she left the room.

"Come on, honey, it's time to go to sleep." Climbing into the bed beside the other girl, Tara watched as Willow snuggled herself into her side. Wrapping her arm around the red-head's back, the Wiccan saw the girl close her green eyes as she laid her head down onto her stomach. Resting her head on the pillow behind her, Tara sighed, and closed her eyes.

* * *

As he pulled the car door shut, Giles forced the key into the ignition and turned it with every remaining shred of strength in his body. The car's engine roaring to life, the Watcher pushed the gas petal down to the floor of the vehicle as it shot out of the garage and into the overcast sky of the English country-side. Giving just one glance at the rearview mirror, the man saw Willow levitating in front of the destroyed doorway, although the Dark Witch did not give chase. Forcing himself to breathe, Giles pressed his back against the seat, and tried to focus his tired mind's attention on driving. Sweat covered nearly every inch of his body, and he could feel his clothes sticking to his skin as a result of said sweat.

The countryside outside rushed by the window of the car, ensuring him that the small corridors of the castle were no longer something he had to worry about. For the moment, the threat that Willow could somehow teleport in front of the car was the only thing keeping his mind from completely calming down. Although he had been forced to leave all of the collected volumes the Coven had within her possession, he had already studied a great many of them, and had the information contained within them stored in his brain. The information that he had found regarding the prophecy itself, and the First's involvement in it, ran through his mind alongside the images of Willow once again tainted with Dark Magicks.

Part of him couldn't believe that the girl would use Magick once more, even in the most extreme circumstances. The way she had reacted the day when he had suggested that she and Tara return to Sunnydale had shown her commitment to never using the powers held within her. To break that resolve, a great or tragic event must have occurred.

The Watcher only hoped that he wouldn't return for a funeral.

* * *

"Giles?!" Her heart and mind relieved to hear her former Watcher's voice, Buffy sat herself back down onto the couch as she closed her eyes. "Thank god, something is finally going right around here."

"Buffy? I'm afraid that I don't have much time to talk. I'll be on a flight for Sunnydale within the hour."

"Geez, forget me even asking for help. You're coming to us." Resting her head into her open hand as she continued to listen to the sound of her former Watcher's voice, the Slayer sighed. "Giles, we're fighting the First."

"Yes, I'm aware of the situation. Please tell me no one is hurt."

"All of us are fine, except for Willow. She's kinda…wigged at the minute."

"By 'wigged', I assume you mean that she has returned to using Dark Magick?"

"Wait,_ what?"_ Furrowing her brow as she listened to the man's words, Buffy let her hand drop down into her lap. "Giles, what are you talking about?"

"I…I'm afraid that I had a little run in with Willow, she tried to kill me." Covering the mouth-piece of the phone as the sound of a plane flew overhead, Giles pressed a finger against his ear. "She's returned to using the Dark Magicks she swore off."

"No, Giles, you don't get it. There's_ two_ of her. The real one's here with Tara, the dark and veiny one is working with the First, _she came after you?!"_

"Wait, are you telling me that the prophecy…" As the pieces clicked together in his mind, the Englishman fell silent. "It all makes sense…"

"God, will someone let me in on this whole prophecy thing? Because I keep hearing about it, and Slayer-girl doesn't like being left out of the loop." Starting to get back onto her feet as she waited to hear the man's response, Buffy let out an aggravated groan. "And an out of the loop Slayer isn't a happy one."

"I will 'fill you in' as soon as I arrive. Until then, do take care."

"You too, Giles. If the dark and veiny Willow is after you, you're going to need more luck than me." Setting the phone back down onto the receiver, Buffy closed her eyes as she felt happiness swarm over her. She had feared that something bad had fallen on the Watcher, and even though he had just barely escaped with his life from Willow's doppelganger, he _was_ alive, and that was the important thing. That gave them more strength in numbers against the foes that they now found themselves facing, and that made the Slayer feel a little bit of confidence sink into her heart.

A knock on the door tore the girl out of her thoughts, forcing her back to the present time and the dark reality of what was happening. Sticking the jackal knife that lay on the nearby end-table into the back of her jeans, Buffy took a few steps towards the door, all the while hearing a somewhat persistent knocking ringing out through the house. She couldn't remember where they had acquired the jackal knife, but considering that it was sharp and pointy, she could work with it just fine. Stopping just a foot away from the door, the Slayer took a deep breath and wrapped her fingers around the doorknob.

As she opened the door, Buffy felt her heart stop as her eyes set their gaze on Angel. Staring back at the Slayer, Angel found a smile coming to his face.

"Buffy."

"Angel." As they said each other's names, the two lovers felt the world around the two of them slip away.

"Um, ok, not that seeing you two thinking about sucking face isn't fun, but I'm starving, B." Stepping out from behind the ensouled vampire, Faith smiled when she saw the other Slayer's face flood with shock. "Nice to see you too."

"Faith." Saying the other Slayer's name with shock lining her tone, Buffy turned her eyes back onto Angel. "I take it that this is what you had to do before you got here?"

"You said we need all the help we can get."

"Yeah, heard about the big fight you got going on here. The First, huh?" Grinning, the dark-haired Slayer shoved her hands into her pockets. "There's a fight I don't want to miss."

"Guess so." Replying somewhat awkwardly, Buffy moved aside in the doorway in order to allow the two allies entrance into the house. Stepping into the Summers' home, Faith saw Dawn staring at her from across the room, her expression not showing a single shred of happiness.

"Hey B, you didn't tell me the Brat was all woman-sized now."

"She didn't tell me there was a murderer in the house either." Glaring at the newly arrived Slayer, Dawn closed the laptop in front of her.

"Nice to see you too, Brat." Smiling sarcastically at the younger Summers girl, Faith turned back to where Buffy was still standing. "You got a place I can crash? Sleeping on a prison bed for a while hasn't been good to me."

"Upstairs. You can take my room." Rolling her eyes, Buffy turned away as the other Slayer headed up the stairs and disappeared from view.

"Dawn, you should go to bed as well. You're not going to do any good walking around like a zombie."

"Buffy-"

"Bed. _Now." _Giving her sister a glance that silently told her that there was nothing up for debate, Buffy watched as the younger Summers girl gathered up her laptop and headed upstairs without a further word. Watching the girl head up the stairs for a moment, the Slayer turned back in order to look at the vampire staring at her.

"It's…It's been a while." He said, with something that the girl could compare to nervousness filling out his voice.

"Yeah, a while." Looking the vampire up and down, Buffy found a smile of her own coming to her face. "Thanks for coming. We need all the help we can get."

"Like I said, I'm yours for however long you need me." Returning the smile, the vampire shoved his hands into his pockets. "So…I take it I'm taking the bed in the basement?"

"How did you know?"

"Lucky guess."

* * *

"So, I take it that you thought breaking Faith out of prison was a good idea?" As she cleared the last step, Buffy saw Angel laying on the makeshift bed that she had set up for him. The basement, while not completely darkened, offered enough shade that he wouldn't be at risk for bursting into flames. Looking up from where he had been looking over a book, the ensouled vampire offered the girl a smile.

"Seemed like one. After all, you said we're not just facing the First anymore, but a darker version of Willow as well." Closing the book and setting it down onto the mattress beneath him, Angel got up onto his feet. "She's changed, Buffy. She's not the same girl you knew four years ago."

"I can tell. The way she dresses, the way she talks…oh wait, same old Faith I knew."

"Buffy-" Stopping himself, the ensouled vampire simply looked at the girl for a moment. "We've all changed. We're not the same people we were years ago."

"Don't have to tell me." Chuckling slightly, the Slayer turned and leaned herself against the punching bag hanging from the ceiling. _"So _do not have to tell me."

"How…How have you been?"

"You mean since I last saw you? Better. I…I wasn't myself."

"Buffy, you were ripped out of Heaven. I understand." Taking a step towards where the Slayer was standing, Angel's voice showed nothing but concern and understanding. "You weren't yourself, and to be honest, I don't think anyone expected you to be."

"Oh, you'd be surprised. A few people thought I should have been." Shaking her head, Buffy sighed. "Really inspiring stories we're swapping, aren't they?"

"Buffy, we've both been through a lot. There's nothing wrong in taking comfort in them." Not realizing what he was doing, Angel took a step towards Buffy at the same moment that the girl did the same.

"Right, because we're basically the same kind of people and all that…" Stopping in front of the Slayer, Angel found himself leaning down just as Buffy looked up at him.

"But we're still not the same people we once were." Leaning in closer to the vampire's face, Buffy kept her eyes locked on the man's irises.

"And yet that doesn't mean that we're not still essentially the same."

"Right…"

"But like you said, we're not…the…same…people…anymore." Still leaning in closer to the vampire's lips, Buffy finally stopped talking and pressed her lips against the vampire's mouth. Meeting the Slayer with an equal amount of passion, the vampire closed his eyes as he rested his hands on the girl's hips. Lost in the feeling of Angel's lips on her own, Buffy wrapped her arms around the vampire's neck, her tongue pressing against the man's lips as it begged for entry.

They continued to kiss for what seemed like hours until the Slayer finally pulled away, leaving the man looking down at her. Unable to stop the disappointment from sinking into her voice, the blonde girl sighed.

"Angel, we…we can't go through this again. _I _can't go through this again." Shaking her head slightly, Buffy sighed. "It's not really fair, isn't it?"

"Buffy, listen." Reaching into his shirt, Angel pulled out an amulet that that lay attached to his neck via a small chain. "This amulet, it focuses my soul. So long as it remains on me, my soul remains."

"What?" Her attention obviously perked, the Slayer looked up at the vampire.

"Wesley found it when he was researching the First. We had it stored in the safe, figuring that it might be something that we could use to weaken a Demon or even the First itself." Holding the amulet up in order to let the woman see it, Angel smiled slightly. "Guess it did have a use after all."

"You're telling me that this thing, since it's all shiny and everything, it'll let your soul remain in you if we…" Trailing off slightly, Buffy felt Angel's finger on her chin, gently forcing her to look at him.

"Yes."

* * *

Turning away as he finally saw the two lovers fall back onto the bed, Spike tossed his cigarette to the ground and stamped it out with the top of his boot. As he thought about what he had just heard and witnessed, he felt something akin to full blown rage circulating through his undead veins. To think that he had gone through Hell and back to receive a soul, only to find that the Slayer was once again sleeping with his grandsire, was something that he couldn't even properly glance at without seeing red sink into his vision.

"And so this is how the little bird comes flocking back to the nest." Turning his head as he heard the single voice that he would recognize anywhere, the blonde vampire found himself looking at his sire, the same insane looking clouding her eyes. "Just like a poor little bird that has had its wings clipped."

"What are you doing here, Dru? Got bored of the Demon you were shacking up with down in South America?"

"Poor Spikey." Still continuing to talk towards the recently ensouled vampire as it ignored what he said, the First maintained its illusion of Drusilla for the vampire. "You let the good back into you for a bird that doesn't love you."

"'Fraid so, love. Figured it was time for a change. Not like what you've been doing as of late."

"So quick to judge his Mommy. Spikey has been a naughty boy."

"What can I say? I've always been the big bad."

"But you've been a good little boy for the Slayer, haven't you?"

"Maybe I have, and maybe I haven't." Turning away from the female vampire, Spike rolled his eyes. "Sod off."

"Where are you going?" Obviously shocked at how the vampire had walked away from it, the First stared as Spike continued on his path. Rolling its own eyes, the entity took a step back and closed in on itself, leaving the night air quiet and lonely.

* * *

Looking down at the girl sleeping in her lap, Tara knew that she wouldn't be getting any sleep tonight. As long as Willow continued to remain in her detached state, the sleepless nights would continue to come without end. As she heard the red-head's continued babbles repeating over and over again in her head, the Wiccan tried her best to decipher their meaning. Despite what Buffy had tried to tell her, her girl _did _mean something. It couldn't just be a mere coincidence that the way she described moonlight and sunlight seemingly matched up with the differences between Dark and Light Magicks. Add to the fact that the constant references to how the moonlight hurt other people and caused pain compared to how the sunlight 'helped' people, and the evidence that the two descriptions meant something else entirely began to pile up.

Readjusting the way her head was laying in the other girl's lap, Willow took a deep breath as she continued to sleep. Her blue eyes watching the girl by the dim glow of the moonlight, Tara sighed and rested her hand on her girl's hair.

_We're going to help you, honey. I promise._

* * *

Stepping out onto the brightly lit front lawn of the Summers house, the Dark Witch saw nor heard any response that would signal that she had been detected. There was only one barrier surrounding the house, and it was a fragile thing at best, considering that the only person capable of using such Magick would be Tara. Knowing how much the young Wiccan would be affected by the spell afflicting her precious Willow, the dark-haired Witch passed her hand over the barrier, and watched as it cracked and gradually disappeared. Her path no longer hindered, Dark Willow started towards the house, raising her hand in the process as she summoned her control over the Dark Magicks swimming in her brain.

This was going to be _fun._

* * *

"Moonlight's coming! It's coming! Mommy, it's coming!" As she looked over the red-head still tossing and turning underneath the sheets, Tara managed to harden her heart for a moment in order to ensure that she wouldn't start to cry. It had been only an hour since Willow had awakened from the peaceful slumber she had been enveloped in for the past hours, and started to babble once more about the Moonlight and the Sunlight. Looking up at the other girl with her green eyes lined with noticeable pain, Willow's voice held a certain desperate tone to it's sound. "It's coming! It's coming! It's here!"

"Honey, calm down. It's alright." Taking hold of the red-head's hand, Tara hoped that she could help the former Witch to concentrate enough that she could go back to sleep. "I promise, it's alright."

"The Moonlight's outside! It's coming through the rain!" As if on cue with what Willow had just said, an explosion rocked the house and filled the air with its sound. Momentarily knocked to the floor, Tara felt the red-head land on the floor next to her as the girl bounded out of the bed she had been laying on. Shaking her head slightly as she rose back onto her feet, the Wiccan watched as Willow tried to crawl underneath the bed. "Moonlight is here! It wants to hurt us!"

* * *

As she launched another fireball into the house, the embodiment of Dark Willow smiled as destruction rained down once more on the Summers' home. From inside the structure, there was the barely visible form of movement, as well as the sound of shouts and screams. Her blackened eyes staring directly through the destroyed front door, the Dark Witch finally saw a first response from the house as a battle axe came flying from the door. The weapon coming within inches of hitting her before it stopped, its flight path stopped by the Dark Magicks inside the Witch.

"_Come now, Buffy, I thought we were friends. You're going to try and kill me?" _Laughing as she used Magick to toss the weapon aside, Dark Willow watched as the Slayer emerged from the house with another weapon in her hand. _"This doesn't seem very friendly."_

"You're not my friend." Her eyes ripping the Witch to shreds, Buffy gripped the weapon even tighter in her hand. "Willow's still in the house."

"_Oh, is she now? Why don't you bring her out here so I can visit? I'm sure I have something she and Tara both want."_

"And I think I've got someone who wants to meet you. Axe, meet Witch. Witch, meet Axe." Swinging the weapon upwards as she finished her sentence, the Slayer watched as her opponent teleported out of the way of the weapon's range, leaving her with only seconds to react. Ducking, Buffy felt the slight charge as a ball of lighting zoomed over her head and impacted on the street behind her. Bringing the axe around for another attack, the blonde girl felt some sense of satisfaction as the blade of the weapon just barely touched the Witch's leg, causing a cut to appear that oozed blood within seconds. Her pitch black eyes staring at the wound, Dark Willow's smile turned to an anger-lined frown.

"What's the matter? Don't like it when someone makes you bleed?" Swinging the axe again towards the other girl, Buffy felt her body freeze as the Witch waved her hand in front of her.

"_Bored now." _Shooting her hand out, Dark Willow watched as the other girl was thrown back into the nearby tree. As she felt the tree trunk make contact with her back, Buffy struggled to get enough air back into her system as the wind was knocked out of her. Hovering above the Slayer, Dark Willow smiled as she saw the result of her previous spell.

"_Oh, Buffy, I thought this was going to be tougher. Either you're not trying, or I'm just too strong for you." _Making a tisking sound, the Witch raised her hand in order to generate another ball of lightning. _"Fighting the big bad Slayer, and I was expecting that you would put up more of a fight."_

"You did one thing wrong…" Pushing herself up onto her knees, Buffy looked at the other girl with fire backing her eyes. "You _pissed _me off."

Charging back onto her feet, Buffy tackled the Dark Witch, obviously having taken her off-guard. As the two of them stumbled back, Dark Willow muttered something in Latin before watching the Slayer go soaring into the air.

"_And you seemingly forgot that I have Magick, and all you've got is the powers of Supergirl." _Already back on her feet, the Witch looked at where the Slayer had been thrown. _"You know, I'm starting to think that you're not really into this." _

"The moonlight is outside in the day light!" Turning her pure black eyes towards the newly arrived voice, Dark Willow saw her 'real' counterpart struggling to free herself from Tara's grip as the other girl tried to pull her back inside. Her blue eyes looking up from the girl she was holding onto her, Tara caught sight of the pair of black eyes looking back at her.

"_Still trying to protect the little Witch, Tara?" _Turning herself fully around in order to face the two girls, the doppelganger smiled. _"See? You enjoy being the one in charge."_

"Hecate, heed my call, give us protection from them all." Saying the protection spell, the blonde Wiccan knew that she wouldn't be able to protect both herself and Willow from any Dark Magicks that the girl's doppelganger could conquer at the moment's whim, but she could buy them some time in order to get away.

"_Such a tiny shield. It's so cute looking." _Rolling her pitch black eyes, Dark Willow raised her hand and the shields dissolved within a moment's notice. _"And now it's all broken." _

Stepping back into the house, Tara continued to hold onto Willow's hand as the former Witch clung to her body. Approaching the two girls, the Witch muttered a phrase in Latin, causing the room around them to begin to spin.

"Moonlight taking us away!" Burying her head into Tara's shoulder, the red-head shook her head as the living room around her and the other Wiccan swiftly began to change into the stone formation of a castle. Her blue eyes watching the changing shapes surrounding herself, Tara felt her heart drop to the very bowels of her stomach as she realized where the Dark Witch had teleported them.

"She took us back to England…"


	15. End Of One Puzzle & The Start Of Another

**Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy or any of the characters. They belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. **

* * *

**Chapter 15**

"Everyone five by five down here?" Rushing into the hallway connecting the doorway and the kitchen, Faith saw both Dawn and Anya struggling to their feet as a stunned Xander tried to collect himself. There was an enormous amount of scattered dust and smoke in the house, making it slighty harder to see.

"Yeah, just fine." Casting a short angry glance at the dark-haired Slayer, Dawn looked around the house in order to make sure that no-one was injured.

"You think that the villains would know enough to knock before we come out and play." Shaking his head slightly, Xander leaned back against the wall for support. "Because I'm kinda sick of having to rebuild everything around here."

"It brings us money though!"

"Anya, I do it for _free!"_ Shaking his head again, the man took a step towards where the vengeance demon was standing. "You alright?"

"Fine. I don't break limbs as easily as I used to."

"Buffy? Are you alright?" Seeing her sister stumble back into the house, Dawn rushed towards her.

"Fine."

"You don't look very five by five, B. You kinda look like Hell tried to run over you with a truck." Seeing the various bits and pieces of grass and dirt covering her fellow Slayer's clothing, Faith stepped aside as the girl moved into the kitchen.

"I'm fine, Faith. Things just didn't work like I planned."

"Buffy…" Standing in the corner of the kitchen while Anya pulled the blinds on the window shut in order to allow him to move towards the girl, Angel's eyes were lined with concern.

"Does everyone understand this? I'm fine." Forcing herself to take a deep breath, Buffy closed her eyes. "Is everyone alright?"

"Fine." Answering the question at nearly the same time, Xander, Anya, Angel, and Dawn all looked at one another as the moment passed.

"Where's Tara and Willow?" Looking around the kitchen, the light-haired Slayer saw looks of concern spreading across the other Scoobies.

"Willow tried running out of the house, but Tara stopped her. I thought they were with you."

"Considering how I was enjoying the trees' and grasses' company, I can safely say they weren't."

"Wait, so you're saying that the dark and veiny Willow might have taken them?" Looking at her older sister, Dawn turned and ran up the stairs before anyone else in the room could react. "Tara? Willow?"

"Great, so not only are we screwed, but the other Willow decided to make the game harder by taking away our Witches. Why do I get involved in these situations?" Her comment causing a few of the remaining Scoobies to look at her, Anya's expression only strengthened. "I mean, I risk being killed, destroyed, or even hurt by helping all of you, and I get no thanks."

"None of us do, Anya." Turning towards the Vengeance Demon, Xander sighed. "You know that."

"I do, but I just wanted to point it out, in case anyone didn't know how frustrated I am by all of this."

"Buffy, we'll find them." Finally able to pull the girl into his arms, Angel gave Buffy a kiss on her head. "I promise."

"I believe I might be able to help with that endeavor." As he spoke, Giles saw all eyes within the kitchen turn towards him. "As I do believe that that sort of thing is needed."

* * *

The walls of the Coven's castle were completely silent as Tara stumbled along with the red-head still clinging to her clothing. She hadn't seen any sign of Buffy, or any of the other Scoobies for that matter, and had no idea if Willow's doppelganger had even teleported them here along with herself and the real Willow. Her mind struggling to remember the layout of the upper levels of the castle, Tara took her steps both with consideration and care, but still with a slightly rushed speed. Just because they were safe for the moment didn't mean that the entire scenario couldn't change within a moment's notice.

"Moonlight's coming! Moonlight's coming, Tara!" Her green eyes filled to their brim with fear, Willow looked all around at her surroundings, obviously recognizing them. "It's coming to hurt the Sunlight!"

"Honey, it's alright, look at me." Looking down at the other girl, the blonde Wiccan gazed into the former Witch's green eyes. "Be calm…"

"Calm…Sunlight is calm…" Her stance and tone of voice changing as she stared into the blue irises looking down at her, Willow nodded slowly. "Calm…calm…"

"Come on, we have to keep moving." Breaking her eye contact with her girl, Tara turned back towards the hallway ahead of them. There was a distinct lack of any sound apart from the way the two girl's footsteps echoed throughout the stone labyrinth. Part of her wished that Willow's doppelganger would show herself, just to end the almost heart-attack worthy anticipation. The Dark Witch had them exactly where she wanted, and now all she was doing was standing by.

What was she waiting for?

* * *

"Giles!" Running towards the recently arrived Englishman, Anya wrapped her arms around his chest. "I'm so glad that the evil Willow didn't disembowel you!"

"I think that she speaks for everyone when she says that." Smiling at the Watcher, Buffy felt a small portion of confidence sink back into her heart. Having Giles at her side once more added yet another body to her cause, and strength in numbers was something that she needed desperately at the moment. It seemingly was a reunion atop the Hellmouth, considering that almost everyone who had fought at her side during the conflict with the Mayor was here, save for Cordelia and Oz. From what she had gathered from Angel, Buffy knew that Cordelia was still in Los Angeles, keeping control of Angel Investigations until the entire matter of the First and Willow's doppelganger was settled. No-one inside the group had heard from Oz since his rescue from the Initiative almost two years ago, although they were sure he was fine wherever he was. The man knew how to take care of himself.

"Would one you buggers invite me in already? I'm on bleeding fire here!" As a new voice scattered its sound through the kitchen, the newly reunited Scoobies saw an all too familiar face staring at them from behind both the screen door of the room, and a blanket.

"_Spike?" _Saying the vampire's name, Buffy felt every muscle inside her body instantly go on edge as the memories of what the vampire had tried to do to her came flooding back.

"Considering what you tried to do to Buffy, I'm pretty sure that would be a fair punishment." Rushing over to the door, Xander pressed his hand against the lock, knowing that everyone else in the kitchen was watching him. "Anyone object to that?"

"Wait, what do you mean what he_ tried_ to do?" His normally calm eyes filling up with anger, Angel watched as smoke continued to come out from under the blanket that was covering his grand-childe'. "Spike, I swear if you even laid a hand on her…"

"Wait, you didn't know that Buffy and Spike made together with the fleshy bits?"

_"Anya!"_ Staring at the vengeance demon as if her gaze alone would force her to stop, Buffy avoided even trying to meet Angel's eyes. "It was only _once!"_

"The hell it was!" Shouting from where he was standing, Spike looked at every face in the room with a seemingly desperate quality to his eyes. "Come on, I'm burning out here!"

"Wait, wait, wait…hold up here, B…" Her mind just beginning to put together the dots, Faith's brown eyes lit up with slight amusement_. "Damn,_ they should call you the Vampire _Layer…"_

"Faith, shut up!"

"_WILL SOMEONE JUST LET ME IN ALREADY?!"_ Shouting the answer from a pain-filled voice, Spike knew that any moment longer would eventually cause him to burst into nothing but dust.

"Alright, alright, I invite you in!" As the invitation left her lips, the Slayer watched as the vampire charged into the house, throwing the blanket off of himself in the process. His eyes still focused on the other vampire, Angel took a single step towards him before he wrapped his fists around Spike's leather duster.

"Something you want to tell me about, Spike?" Growling out the question, the ensouled vampire looked into the Demon's eyes, and felt a certain spark of recognition in the way the man's eyes looked at him. "It can't be…"

"Angel, I don't think we need to have any blood spilled on Buffy's floor, that costs mon…" Catching the way the vampire was looking into Spike's eyes, Anya turned her gaze on them before seeing the same spark that Angel had.

"Spike, I don't believe it…Where did you get it?!" Her voice filling up with excitement, the Vengeance Demon seemingly forgot that everyone else in the room was unable to see what either she or her fellow Demon were able to see.

"Ok, I'm lost, and I'm not looking to be the Lost Slayer again. Somebody fill me in." Still observing the entire scene, Buffy looked at the vampire being held against the wall, and took a step back as a memory of what had happened months ago came flying back. Her body tensing up for a split second, the Slayer heard Dawn's voice echo back through the kitchen as she returned from checking the upstairs portion of the house.

"Willow and Tara aren't here, Buffy. Are you sure they're not outside?"

"Dawn, the dark and veiny Willow took them…" Unsure of how to voice the truth of the matter to the younger Summers girl, Xander came to stand beside where Giles had taken perch. Catching sight of the Watcher, Dawn's expression lightened somewhat as she ran to the man and embraced him in a hug.

"You said you might be able to help, Giles? I'm going to take that as a 'Yes, I have information that could help Buffy make with the Slaying'." Forcing her mind to concentrate on the matter at hand, Buffy stepped around where Angel was still holding Spike to the wall, and kept her eyes focused solely on her former Watcher.

"Oh, yes. I believe that I might have a theory on that matter." Turning towards the living room as Dawn let her hands drop back to her sides, Giles heard the footsteps of the other Scoobies following him into the room. Inside, he hoped that the answer he was about to provide wouldn't add to any of their fears.

* * *

"Tara…calm…" Repeating the sentence over and over again for comfort, the red-head closed her fear-filled green irises for a moment as she continued to cling to Tara's shirt. "Sunlight's calm even though Moonlight wants to hurt and make it sad…"

_Sunlight and Moonlight…wait… _Turning towards the other girl, Tara looked into Willow's green eyes once more.

"Honey, do you mean that you're the Sunlight and the other you is the Moonlight?"

"Sunlight good, Moonlight bad…" Nodding as she started to babble, the red-head saw Tara's expression flood with shock. "Sunlight protects, Moonlight hurts…"

"You were trying to say that Sunlight and Moonlight need to come back…you mean they have to be the same_ person?"_

"Come inside before it rains…"

"Before the other you does something that will hurt all of us?"

"They have to get along…"

"You mean they have to be…the Dark and Light Magicks have to be back inside_ you?"_ Her tone growing more and more excited yet nervous, Tara felt her heart jumping at the realization that she had been right, and that Willow's seemingly insane babble hadn't been insane after all. "You have to have both of them?"

"Make them come inside, Mommy." Nodding once more, Willow felt Tara pull her closer into her grip.

"Oh, Goddess…" Whispering the words underneath her breath, the blonde Wiccan closed her eyes. _"Why?"_

"Moonlight…"

"Honey, it's alright."

_"MOONLIGHT!"_ Struggling to free herself from the other girl's grip as her green eyes widened in shock, Willow pointed at the entity standing behind both herself and Tara. _"MOONLIGHT!"_

Turning around with her arms still wrapped around the other girl's waist and back, Tara's own irises filled to their brim with shock as she saw the figure watched them. Slowly clapping, the dark-haired girl smiled.

"_Bravo, Tara, bravo. You finally figured out the little puzzle." _

* * *

"Giles, we really need to figure out where this dark and veiny thing would take Willow and Tara." Following the former Watcher into the living room with the remaining Scoobies following closely behind, Buffy knew that she was exhausted and her clothes were covered in grass and dirt stains, but she ignored them. She had been through worse in her life, and she would survive being dirty for a little while longer. Although she hadn't been able to defeat Willow's doppelganger, she had learned something from the fight itself. She couldn't defeat the Witch head on by herself. She needed to have backup if she was even going to get close to the doppelganger.

"And that could be anywhere, I hope you realize that, B. Considering how quick this thing is to make with the Magicks and lightning bolts, I don't think it took all of them to a picnic."

"For once, I actually agree with her." Her arms crossed over her chest, Dawn kept her eyes focused on her sister. "We need to get Willow and Tara back before that thing does anything to them."

"We're going to do that." Turning around to face the group gathered behind her, the Slayer closed her eyes. "We just have to figure out where they are."

"I think I might have an answer to that question." Easing himself down into the slightly askew couch, Giles removed his glasses from his face and rubbed his eyes. "It is a distinct possibility that this…other Willow took both Tara and the real Willow back to the Coven's castle."

"What? Why?"

"You said that the First separated the Dark Magicks from Willow?" Seeing his Slayer nod, the Watcher pushed his glasses back into place as all the eyes within the room focused directly on him. "Then, those Magicks will naturally feel some kind of aggression towards those that tried to eradicate them, with Willow being the obvious target at the center of all of this."

"And how does Tara and the Coven factor into all of this?" Still sitting down in one of the chairs he had returned to its legs, Xander felt exhausted and hurt, but continued to soldier on. "Besides the two of them being connected with the whole helping Willow thing-y."

"The Magicks said that they knew of everything that occurred when the three of us were in the Coven's presence, so that would naturally imply that it's aware of what Tara means to Willow."

"The whole going Dark thing?" Still pinned against the wall by the older vampire, Spike saw Buffy glare at him. "I heard Red tried being the Big Bad for a while. Guess it didn't work out for her?"

"Shut up, Spike."

"So, the Magicks obviously took Tara with Willow because they want her to see Tara get hurt. Doing such a thing would hurt Willow enough that she would do anything to help her, am I correct?"

"You've got it." Nodding, Buffy waited for the man to continue. "So, I take it that dark and veiny Willow already took care of the Coven?"

"As far as I know, all of them were absorbed by her. You said that she had already done this to another Witch?"

"Mhm. Amy." Saying the girl's name with a small amount of contempt, Buffy forced her vision to remain on the Englishman. "It killed her a few minutes after it did whatever it did to Willow's mind."

"Such a thing has occurred in the histories before. There have been accounts of a person's Magickal connection being severed. It usually involves a great deal of pain for the person, and it has been known to drive said person insane."

"So, you're saying that Willow's gone all Wiggins on us, and there's nothing we can do?"

"Allow me to finish." Accepting the bottle of water that Anya had fetched for him, Giles took a moment's break in order to take a large swig of the liquid. "It is possible to reattach the person's connection, but again, it is an extremely painful process, and it may only succeed in driving Willow only deeper into insanity."

"Then how did the Coven do the whole 'taking the Magicks out of Willow' thingy? I remember Tara describing it a little bit in one of her letters. Isn't that the same thing?"

"No, in a manner of speaking. The Coven's Rituals, while having quite nearly the same amount of pain, only took bits and pieces of the Dark Magick out of her. By doing this, it saved her from the insanity that would have accompanied having all of it removed at one time."

"So, they basically forced her through the same amount of pain, but without the whole 'going insane' thingy?" Speaking up from where she had come to stand behind Xander, Anya somewhat anxiously awaited the man's answer.

"In a manner of speaking ,yes. However, even doing that at such as slow pace put Willow through a great deal of pain. To have it done all at once, it would have to be unbearable."

"And yet, Willow went through it, and survived it…somewhat…" Mummering the sentence underneath her breath, Buffy looked up in order to address Giles. "Giles, are you saying that if we restore Willow's connection, it'll make her sane again?"

"There are no guarantees that such a thing would be a success, but it is extremely possible."

"Then that's what we need to do." Her gaze dropping down to the ground again, the Slayer turned away and headed towards the kitchen. "Tara was right all along. Willow _was _trying to tell us something."

* * *

As she stared at the Dark Witch in front of her, Tara pushed Willow behind her in order to shield her from her dark doppelganger. Inside her chest, her heart was racing, the adrenaline and fear running through her system giving her enough focus to know that the Witch would try to attack Willow before anything or anyone else.

"_Aww, is Tara hiding little Willow from me? What a motherly thing to do." _Her voice drenched in sarcasm and spite, Dark Willow took a step towards the two Wiccans. _"Again, you're enjoying this, just like I said you would."_

"S-Stay back." Struggling to remember the right words to the defensive spell she had used before at the house, the blonde girl kept Willow effectively hidden behind her.

"_Ah, you're starting to stutter, does that mean you're nervous?" _Still converging on the two girls, the Dark Witch raised her finger and smiled as she saw the other girl flinch. _"I can tell you're afraid."_

"_Repellendos hostes tuos, et tu etiam protege me." _The words finally coming to her, Tara muttered the Latin phrase and grinned slightly as a small shield erected itself in front of herself and Willow.

"_Tara, Tara, Tara. You should know that these sort of things don't last." _Waving her hand over the shield, the doppelganger's eyes seemingly took on a confused look to them as the shield remained intact.

"Goddess, protect us…" Turning away from where the shield continued to stand, Tara looked into Willow's fearful eyes. "Honey, we need to go…"

"Moonlight…" Only saying the term she used to describe the doppelganger, Willow nodded as Tara pulled her feet into step. As the two of them raced down the stone hallway, the sound of the Dark Witch blasting away at the shield with various assorted spells continued to echo along with their footsteps. Turning the corner just as the first crack appeared on the surface of the Magick infused shield, the two Wiccans found themselves at a dead end, with only the sight of stone walls appearing to their eyes. Grabbing hold of the red-head's hand as she turned around and headed for the first door in sight, Tara heard Willow cry out the word 'Moonlight' once more as another, larger crack appeared in the shield. It wouldn't last for much longer, and that fact only urged the Wiccan on even faster.

As her fingers wrapped around the door-knob, Tara threw the door open and pulled Willow in with her, pulling the door shut as the room became engulfed in darkness. Still able to feel Willow's fingers wrapped around the sleeve of her shirt, the Wiccan felt the wall around her for a light switch of any kind, or even a book of matches. Having any sort of light would be better than sitting in the dark waiting for Willow's doppelganger to return and do to them what it had planned to do originally.

"Moonlight doesn't like Sunlight's Tara…" Mumbling, the red-head clung to the other Wiccan with every inch of her strength. Feeling her way along the wall until she found a corner, the blonde girl pulled Willow down into a sitting position in the corner. As the sound of the Dark Witch's voice began to grow closer and closer with each passing second, the two Wiccans gave each other a silent look.

"_Come out, come out, wherever you are, little Witches." _From behind the closed door, Tara heard the unmistakable sound of the Dark Witch's voice echoing into the room. _"I only want to play…"_

Turning her head, the blonde Wiccan saw Willow press a finger against her lips and shake her head. Nodding, Tara pulled the girl closer to her side as she silently whispered the words to a cloaking spell that she had only a vague memory of ever using before. Letting the last word glide from her tongue into the air surrounding herself and the other girl, the Wiccan felt a small degree of comfort as the room they had entered blurred slightly, a sign that the cloak had worked properly. Whether or not it was strong enough to prevent Dark Willow from finding them remained to be seen, and as the thought came to mind that it might not be powerful enough, Tara closed her eyes and shook her head.

"_Are you in here, little Witches?" _As the words left the Dark Witch's lips, the doppelganger entered the room, the wooden door splintering into scattered pieces as the Witch raised her hand. Her blackened eyes scanning the room, the doppelganger hovered above the floor silently.

_Please work, please work, please work, please work… _Almost chanting the plea inside her head, Tara watched as the Witch moved through every corner of the room, silently searching for the two Wiccans. Her green eyes staring attentively at her doppelganger, Willow remained silent, biting the bottom of her lip at times in order to ensure that she didn't babble. Even in her insane state, she knew that having the 'Moonlight' find the 'Sunlight' wasn't a good thing or a wanted one.

"_Really, Tara, you're making poor little Willow play hide-and-seek? She doesn't seem to be in the right state of mind to understand what the point of that game is." _Hearing the Dark Witch's taunt, Willow turned her head towards Tara and shook her head before grabbing her hand and entwining her fingers within the other Wiccan's. Looking down at the fingers holding onto her hand, Tara nodded at the way her girl was staring at her. In many ways, it reminded her of the day the Gentleman had come, when the voices of Sunnydale had been taken away, and she had first held hands with the red-head sitting next to her.

"_Hmmm, I wonder…" _Extending her hand out to a nearby wooden chair, the dark-haired doppelganger flicked her finger as the object jumped from the floor and flew through the air until it made contact with an opposing wall. Sitting underneath the spot where the piece splintered into fracture pieces, Tara and Willow covered their heads as the pieces crashed to the ground directly in front of them. Biting down hard on her bottom lip, the red-head tasted blood as it hit her tongue. Almost whimpering, the former Witch remained absolutely silent as she held onto Tara's hand.

"_Nope, no Witches in here." _Turning towards the doorway, Dark Willow exited the room, leaving the destroyed door and chair where they laid. Waiting for what seemed like hours, Tara finally uttered the phrase that brought the cloak down, and left them exposed to whatever dangers filled the Coven's castle.

"Are you alright, sweetie?"

"Moonlight didn't hurt Sunlight. Grass didn't get hurt or stained with red, red blood." Nodding as she babbled in a hushed tone, Willow allowed the other girl to help her onto her feet. Staring into the girl's green eyes, Tara sighed.

"We have to find a way out of here, honey. Alright?"

"Sunlight knows that Moonlight doesn't like her." Nodding again, the red-head offered the girl a smile. "Sunlight doesn't want her Tara to get hurt…"

"I know." Reaching out and laying her hand against the former Witch's cheek, Tara sighed. "I know."


	16. The Offer

**Chapter 16**

The walls within the Coven's castle were very different from how Tara remembered them to be. Where once there had been vague sense of welcoming and care, there was only anger, fear, and despair. Whatever Willow's doppelganger had done to the place, it hadn't been for the better. As she walked along with Willow clutching her arm as if her very life depended on it. Since they have evaded being discovered by Dark Willow, the two Wiccans had slowly made their way through the bowels of the castle, most traveling through passages that seemingly hadn't been used in a decades, if not centuries.

The very fact that Willow would have to once again merge with her dark doppelganger frightened the Wiccan. To have those Magicks back inside her once again, after all she had been through with the Coven's rituals, it all seemed so…_unfair._ After everything the girl had been through, didn't she at least deserve to have a chance to be happy? She had done so much to help Buffy prevent the apocalypses in the past, wasn't that worth anything in the grand scheme of things?

"Calm, so calm, Sunlight has Tara…" Humming the words underneath her breath, Willow smiled slightly, the gesture only adding the insanity of her speech.

"Come on, Willow, If I remember right, we're almost to the end of this floor." Making the girl's grip sink down to her hand, Tara forced herself to think about where she and the other girl were going. Since their arrival, it had been plain to see that the Castle had seemingly been rearranged to suit the property's new 'master's ' will. Where once the walls had been plain, easy to navigate, and had contained a certain warmth, there now only existed a harsh, uncaring, and evil cold. With each hallway they passed through, the two Wiccans were seemingly getting nowhere. And with each passing minute that snuck by, Tara felt more and more of her resolve beginning to fade. The constant threat of possibly having Willow's doppelganger attack them loomed over every individual motion they made. One fact remained clear throughout their trek.

They had to get out of the castle.

* * *

"So, this is how you're using your Power? Toying with them like mice?" Walking towards the doppelganger, the First continued to use its assumed form of Amy, the imitation nearly perfect. "I'd prefer rats, but that kinda comes from personal experience."

"_Seems like a fun way to pass the time. Their little friends in Sunnydale won't be able to do anything." _Casting her completely black eyes at the entity, Dark Willow smiled. _"Besides, have you ever watched two Witches in a maze? It's actually quite entertaining." _

"You're beginning to sound like her."

"_You mean poor, little baby Willow? You could say that. It comes with the body I guess." _Running hand along her pitch black hair, the doppelganger rolled her eyes. _"You're one to talk about sounding like someone." _

"Alright, point taken." Turning its attention so that she could look at the portal that lay in front of where the Dark Witch was standing, the First smiled at the way the center of Magick could reveal the very emotions and lines on each of the girls' faces. "I'll admit that this does seem a little better than anything on TV at the moment."

"_You know, you've got all of this power, and you still don't use any of it." _

"What do you mean?" Turning around as it heard the Dark Witch's sentence, the First's eyes grew wide as the doppelganger actually managed to touch it. Looking down at the hand touching it, the entity felt the rest of its body become solid as a wave of Dark Magick flooded it.

"_I mean that I'm kinda enjoying all the power I have now, and you've got some you're just sitting on. So whatcha say? Let me borrow some?"_

"How are you-" The First started before it felt all the words in its mind fade away as the doppelganger rolled its eyes and sent another storm of Magick out into the entity's body.

"_Dark Magicks. They're really a bitch when you have enough of them in your body." _Pressing her hand deeper into the entity's chest, Dark Willow smiled as she saw actual pain flood into the entity's face. _"Really a shock to feel the same thing you inflict on a lot of people, isn't it?_

"_Don't worry though, I just want some power, and then you're free to go. After all, can't leave Willow and Tara unattended, am I right? Gotta have someone down there to keep them company. And I know just the people." _

* * *

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" As they turned the corner, the two Wiccans stopped instantly as they heard a voice that seemed to be all too familiar to the red-headed girl. Turning around quickly, Willow's green eyes flooded with shock, the emotion seemingly able to be read from miles and miles away.

"Skinman!" Shouting out the word as she saw the face of the figure walking towards her , Willow grasped Tara's hand even tighter than she had before.

"Oh, come on now, Willow, I'm not mad." Rolling his eyes as he continued to approach the two Wiccans, Warren looked down at his skinless body. "After all, all you did was _skin_ me while I was still _alive."_

"Willow, he's not there, it's just a trick!" Turning around so that she could look her girl straight in the eyes, Tara took hold of the red-head's shoulders to ensure that she wouldn't look away. "Remember where we are!"

"Skinman! Skinman!" Repeating the name over and over again as if it were a chant, Willow only continued to increase the strength of her grip on the other girl's hand.

"Does this look like a trick, Tara?" Pulling a gun seemingly out of nowhere, Warren smiled, the effect seemingly evil due to the lack of skin anywhere on his body or face. "I'm all business when it comes to you two."

"Besides, poor little Tara has never known what's really real and what's not." Turning her head as she heard a familiar voice ring out in her ears, Tara felt her heart stop dead in her chest for a few moments. Her blue eyes spotting the figure behind her, the blonde Wiccan found herself starring at the figure of her father, the illusion utterly perfect, right down to the tone of voice it was using. "Always such a stupid little girl."

"This isn't real, Willow! Look at me!" Even as she spoke out against the figures that were quickly surrounding both herself and Willow, Tara gripped the red-head's hand tight against her own palm. "They're not real!"

"Oh, alright. The illusion obviously isn't going to work on smart, little Tara." Turning around, the blonde Wiccan found that the figures that had only moments before been around herself and Willow had been replaced with the heart-stopping sight of the girl's doppelganger. The words to an offensive spell coming to mind, Tara started to raise her hand. Raising her own palm, Dark Willow muttered a small phrase in Latin before watching as the spell shot out of her hand and rushed towards the girl. As the doppelganger's spell slammed into her chest, Tara felt untold amounts of pain course through her system as she crashed to the ground a few feet behind where Willow was still standing. Her blackened eyes still staring at the Wiccan whose attack she had easily deflected, the Dark Witch smiled with an ear-to-ear grin.

"_Tara, Tara, Tara, do you really think that you can even _try_ to hurt me?" _Her voice drenched with sarcasm and poison, the Witch raised her hand in order to create a fast-growing fireball that spread out through the air above her hand_. "You just need to cool off."_

"Moonlight!" Screaming the word, Willow's eyes filled with fear as the fireball in her doppelganger's hand came flying towards her at an incredible speed. Watching the entire scene with fear and anger coating her heart, Tara began to struggle onto her feet despite the pain still present in every muscle of her body. Paying no heed to the Wiccan behind her, the dark doppelganger began to approach her counterpart with an evil quality to the expression she wore on her face.

"_Hello, little Willow. Still feeling a little out of it?"_

"Sunlight doesn't like Moonlight. Moonlight tried to hurt Sunlight's Tara." Although the words were spoken with a noticeable amount of fear in her tone, the red-head saw her doppelganger's eyes actually show something akin to that of surprise.

"_Oh, so you can actually form coherent sentences now? Must be a little side-effect of having someone understand you. My spell didn't cover that portion."_

"You did _what _to her?" As the anger she felt sank into her tone of voice, Tara saw the Dark Witch turn towards her.

"_Oh, besides the usual damage that would accompany someone's Magickal connection being severed, I did a little number on the poor little baby's mind." _Still smiling as she explained the situation to the Wiccan, Dark Willow threw her outstretched palm in the direction of her real counterpart. The gesture causing her to jump, the former Witch felt the cold stone of the Castle floor connect with her back as she lost her balance. _"Something that would make her a little more…insane, for lack of a better term."_

"You're telling me _you _did this to her?"

"_Per say. She would already have been insane, but my spell actually gave her the ability to have a coherent thought every now and then. She just couldn't express it to you in a way that you could easily understand." _

"And you knew this the entire time?"

"_It was fun watching you scurry all around, whining about how 'Oh, she means something, but none of you understand!' It's not that they didn't understand Tara, they just thought _you_ were _insane."

"Change her back."

"_Alright, I can do that." _Smiling, the Dark Witch raised her palm as she walked away from her counterpart. Without even speaking, a spell quickly shot out from her outstretched arm, and flew towards the Wiccan. Satisfied that her spell would work, the Witch walked back to where the real Willow was still lying on the floor, and forced her to her feet. As the Dark Magicks wrapped around her body and immobilized her completely, Tara struggled while keeping her eyes locked on the spot where Willow and her doppelganger now stood face-to-face. Lifting her hands, the Dark Witch pressed her fingertips against her counterpart's temples. Channeling her Magick into the other girl's mind, the doppelganger smiled as she heard the first scream escape from the red-head's lips. Her screams only continuing, Willow struggled against the stone-like grip on her temples. Watching with horror filling out every inch of her heart, the blonde Wiccan continued to struggle against the Magicks holding her in place. Mumbling the words to a spell, she only felt the sensation of the Magick being forced back into her as the Light's Dark counterpart tampered with the spell.

Still screaming and struggling, the real Willow stopped suddenly as her green eyes flooded with a sense of realization as they shot open. Her eyes locking their gaze on Tara, her entire expression showed that she was once more in control of herself.

"Willow?"

"Tara…I'm so sorry…" Shaking her head, the red-head's screams renewed as her doppelganger touched her temples once more. Her spirits dropping as quickly as they had rose, Tara screamed out her girl's name as she watched that evil smile on the Dark Witch's face only grow more and more satisfied. As a minute that seemed like an eternity passed by, the doppelganger relinquished her grip on her counterpart and let the red-head fall to the ground. Noticing that the Magicks holding her in place were scattering, Tara struggled off the lingering effects of the spell and rushed to the girl's side. Her hands turning the red-head over onto her back, the Wiccan looked at Willow's entirely emotionless face.

"What did you-" Looking up from the girl, Tara said her response through gritted teeth.

"_Relax, she's not dead. She's alive. I just upped the dosage on my spell." _The smile still plastered over her face, Dark Willow kneeled down onto her bended knee in order to look the other girl in the eye. _"After all, what would happen if one of us were to die?"_

Beginning to raise her hand as the words to a counter-spell sprang to her mind, Tara felt the Dark Magicks once again taking hold over her body as they immobilized her. Staring into the girl's eyes, the doppelganger smiled widely from ear-to-ear.

"_And you're just part of the prize of all this. Can't ever see Willow wanting to live without you. But I'm sure we both know what happened when she thought she would have to." _Enclosing the small space between herself and the Wiccan, Dark Willow reached out and ran her fingers over the other girl's eyes. As she fell to the ground, Tara felt the world around her continuing to darken before everything faded away into the black.

* * *

Lifting her head off of the ground that lay beneath her, Tara rubbed her forehead with the warmness of her palm. Opening her eyes, she looked around at her surroundings in an attempt to try and get a grip on where she was. The memories of the pain she had suffered through from the doppelganger's spell came flooding back to her as she did so, accompanying the pain that still lingered inside her head.

"Such pretty colors all around us…" Spinning herself around very slowly as her eyes took in the room around her, Willow's expression held nothing but a certain emptiness. As she saw and heard the other girl speak, the blonde Wiccan quickly forced herself onto her feet. Traversing the distance between herself and the other girl in what seemed to be seconds, Tara reached out and touched the red-head, her touch forcing the girl to look at her.

"Willow? Sweetie, look at me."

"Pretty kitty cats all around us, so warm and fuzzy…" Her green pupils refusing to focus on anything, the red-head turned around and continued her spiral. Her heart sinking fast, Tara took numerous steps back until she felt the cold rock of the wall meet her back. Letting herself sink to the floor, the girl sat and watched the other girl pace back and forth as she toyed with a stray piece of string on the sweater she was wearing. Sighing, the Wiccan kept her eyes trained on the girl as she returned to her feet. Not noticing the girl coming back towards her, the red-head continued her pacing, crisscrossing across the room as she stared into something that no-one else in the room could see.

"Honey? Stop, you're going to tire yourself out." Reaching out to grab the girl's arm, Tara saw the former Witch turn around to face her, her green eyes having reverted to their emotionless state. After her hopes had been raised after the girl had seemingly started to return to her sane state after hearing that her seemingly insane babble had been understood, Tara saw that the girl's doppelganger had simply 'upped the dose' of whatever spell she had used. As a result, all the progress that the Wiccan had been convinced she had made with Willow was gone once again.

"Kittens like the grass. It makes them play and be adorable…." Staring back at the girl with no emotion behind her eyes, Willow resumed her pacing despite Tara's grip on her arm. Pulling the girl to her, the Wiccan looked down at her girl and felt her heart drop for the umpteenth time in the past week.

"Willow_, please_…I know you're you in there."

"Sunlight shines down on everything, makes the things all shiny and happy." Only hearing more of the insane babble greet her as an answer, Tara took hold of the other girl's hand and moved her thumb over the palm in a gentle, circular pattern. Still staring into the former Witch's eyes, the Wiccan tried desperately to establish the link that she had made with Willow the previous three times she had helped her concentrate. If she could just reach the girl, even for the faintest of seconds, there was no telling what could happen. Still, as she stared into those normally penetrating green irises, she found only emptiness staring back at her.

"_You're wasting your time, little Tara. Willow isn't coming back...unless I make her." _Turning around from where she had been standing, Tara saw Willow's dark doppelganger standing in the doorway of the cell staring at her. Catching sight of the Dark Witch, the real Willow broke away from the Wiccan's grip and ran towards one corner of the room and buried her head into her knees as she cowered.

"What do you want?"

"_Getting a little defiant, are we? You must have forgotten what I'm capable of." _Raising her hand, Dark Willow watched as the Wiccan standing directly in front of her was lifted off of the ground as a mass of Black Magicks began to encircle her. _"Maybe I should remind you."_

Closing her eyes as a massive amount of pain began to circulate through her body, Tara resisted the urge to scream, knowing that it would only give the doppelganger more satisfaction. Gritting her teeth, she tried to raise her hand in order to use some of her Light Magick as a counter-strike, but found the limb effectively frozen in place.

"_Uh, uh, uh. No using Magick while I'm trying to show you something." _ Rolling her blackened eyes, Dark Willow took a few steps forward as she started to walk all the way around the Wiccan she held in her grasp. _"I'll let it go though, since you obviously haven't gone through this. Willow knows enough not to challenge me."_

"Moonlight hurts everyone…" Whimpering out the sentence, the red-head buried her head in her hands once more as she saw her 'twin' turn towards her.

"_She might babble everyone in a while, but she wouldn't even _think_ about raising a hand against me. Not that she could do anything anyway. It's a sad thing seeing another Witch with her Magick connection severed, but considering what she tried to do to us, I'm willing to let it slide."_

"Leave her alone!" Shouting the sentence from behind her gritted teeth, Tara knew that she wouldn't be able to handle much more of the Magicks being used against her.

"_Sweet, little Tara. I have all of this power, and the First only gave me more. Do you really think that _you_ can scare _me?"

"You did what?" Unable to stop shock from sinking into her tone of voice, the Wiccan forced herself to look the doppelganger straight in the eyes.

"_You didn't really think that I was going to let something like the source of all evil just come in here and try to control me, did you? Come on, Tara, you're a smart girl. You should have been able to figure that one out."_

"You can't be serious…"

"_Oh, I am. You know, I don't think you ever truly understood what dear Willow felt when she thought you were dead. Did you ever ask her? Did she ever break down when she was crying and confess every little 'sin' she committed in her grief? I'm sure that would have made for an interesting tale."_

"She told me enough. I forgave her."

"_But it's always in the back of your mind, isn't it? What she did to Warren. She killed a human being, Tara, and all in your name. How does it feel to share the blood on your hands?"_

"She didn't do anything. The Dark Magicks made her do it."

"_Is that what you tell yourself at night? So you can sleep? Maybe we should take a trip down memory lane." _Coming to a stop in front of the Wiccan, the Dark Witch raised her hand and placed her fingers against the other girl's temples. Hissing slightly as doppelganger's Magicks began to course through her body, Tara's eyes snapped shut as if doing so would shut out the pain that was flooding into her. In her mind's eye, she saw everything beginning to unfold in front of her, as if she were bearing witness to the events at the exact moment they had happened.

* * *

"_She's dead, she's really dead…" Continuing to cry inside the place that she had sealed herself off inside her brain, Willow could feel the Dark Magicks continuing to control her body without any of her input or assistance. Ever since she watched Warren perish in flames, the Magicks she had absorbed had increasingly taken control of her actions as they continued to grow in strength. They were actually comforting her, talking to her, promising her that if she destroyed the remainder of the Trio, things would be better. Her precious Tara could rest knowing that she had been avenged._

We can make it all stop. _Speaking up, the Magicks doused another bit of the Witch's brain with their power. _Make _them_ suffer.

"_I can't bring her back, they won't let me."_

But you can _join_ her. Let us take control, fully, and you can join her. You're supposed to always find her, aren't you? _At the mention of the promise that she had made to the girl, Willow's tears found renewed strength as they fell from her eyes. _All of this can be over…

"_Tara…Tara…please, I'm sorry, come back…"_

All of this will be over soon…

* * *

Forcing her eyes open as the memory faded away, Tara found the doppelganger still standing in front of her, her fingers pressing down hard on her temples. Seeing that the Wiccan had reached the end of the first memory, Dark Willow smiled widely, her completely pitch black eyes only adding to the aura of evil that hung all around her body.

"_Hurts to know that's the pain she was going through, doesn't it?"_ She said, knowing that the words would strike a blow straight to the other girl's heart._ "All of that was because she thought she had lost you again, and this time forever."_

"She…was…strong…" Having to push the words out through gritted teeth, Tara tried to shake her head in order to dislodge the Witch's fingers, but found the digits to be firmly rooted to their place.

"_Ah, but she was breaking inside, wasn't she? You felt it, the way she wanted to die. She told Anya she wasn't coming back, didn't she? And she meant it. She was so committed to the idea of joining you where you were. If you were dead, she didn't want to live." _Pressing her fingers harder against the girl's temples, the Dark Witch smirked as the Wiccan whimpered slightly from both the pressure being pushed against her skull, and the short pain that accompanied the Dark Magicks re-establishing a connection. _"Let's see what happened when she saw you that day, at the Temple, when she was so close to destroying the entire world..."_

* * *

_Continuing to look at the girl walking towards her, Willow felt the Magicks strengthening their hold on her brain. They had come so close to having a host that would willingly give them control, and they weren't about to even consider giving that chance up. As she stared at the girl through her Magick affected eyes, the Witch began to break out of the place in her mind that she had sealed herself off to._

She's not real. You watched her die. _Hissing the sentence over and over again as if it were a chant, the Dark Magicks continued to feel their hold actually weakening as their host heard Tara repeating the words 'I love you' as if it were a counter to their own chant. Continuing to say the words, the Wiccan stopped as she felt a spell explode into her chest. Horrified at what the Magicks had just done to her lover, Willow renewed her efforts to take back complete control of her body. From somewhere inside her mind, the Witch began to fight the influence that the Magicks had nearly forced on her inch by inch. With each passing second, the hold that the Dark held on her began to be chipped away as Tara's words of 'I love you' played over and over again without stopping. _

_Screaming out from where she was inside the shell she had built around her inside her mind, Willow wanted to believe that Tara was standing in front of her more than anything else in the world._

"_Tara! Let me out! Tara! TARA!" Continuing to force the Magicks to relinquish their control, the Witch could hear the Dark Magicks continuing to scream at her. "Tara…"_

IT'S A TRICK! TARA IS DEAD!

"_Tara!" Screaming out the girl's name once last final time, Willow felt something inside her brain snap back into place as the Dark Magicks' grip on her finally was dislodged. Sinking into the back of the girl's mind, the Magicks settled into a new spot, although they did not automatically begin to spread their influence once more. Mentally erecting a block for a single moment in order to prevent such a thing from happening, Willow blinked as her eyes drained off their black color and reverted to their natural green hue. Finally reaching where the Witch was standing, Tara wrapped her arms around her. No longer able to control the girl, the Magicks were forced to witness every moment of the girls' reunion._

* * *

Finally removing her fingers from the Wiccan's temples, Dark Willow smiled as she stepped back and watched as her Magicks ceased to hold the girl up. Falling to the ground, Tara felt her body's relief at the fading pain. Breathing hard from what she had just been forced to feel and witness, the Wiccan kept her eyes closed as she tried to regain control of her body. The Dark Magicks she had been forced to accept still lingered in her mind, although there wasn't even nearly enough to take her over. Erecting a barrier around the spot where the Magicks lingered in her brain, Tara took long, deep breaths in an attempt to ease the flow of pain within her.

"_And now you see what happened from the other side." _Gazing down at the girl, the doppelganger smiled. _"Poor Little Tara thinks she didn't cause anyone any pain by rescuing poor, innocent Willow. You hurt _us, _Tara, and that was enough." _

"Tara…" Whispering the other Wiccan's name, Willow peeked her green eyes out from where they had been hidden behind her hands.

"_Seems like someone still remembers your name, Tara. I could change that. Anytime. I. Want."_

"You can do whatever you want to me, but leave her alone." Lifting up her head so that she could look at the girl, Tara's lips formed a scowl as defiance still lined her eyes.

"_Oh, I see. You want to be my plaything. But you want something in return, don't you?" _ Kneeling down onto her bended knee, the Dark Witch smiled. _"Everyone wants something."_

"Change her back. She can't hurt you." Looking directly into the blackened eyes gazing at her, the Wiccan swallowed hard before continuing with her proposition. "If you make her normal, you…you can have me."


	17. Oh Sanity

**I don't know why, but I feel the need to apologize for the quality of this chapter. I don't feel that it's particularily good, so if you find that to be somewhat true, I apologize. **

* * *

**Chapter 17**

As she stared down at the young Wiccan in front of her, Dark Willow actually felt a small chord akin to shock running through her blackened veins. Still looking into the pitch black eyes that once had held her fear in their grasp, Tara struggled once more to push herself up onto her knees admist the pain still inflicting its touch upon her.

"_Such an interesting proposition." _Finally speaking in her darkness laced voice, the Dark Witch allowed the girl to rise to her knees, the pain that she had inflicted on her still sending a smile to her face. _"With so many emotions behind it. Love, hate, fear, all rolled up into one simple sentence." _

"Will you do it?" Looking back at the doppelganger in front of her, Tara's heart felt as if it were going to explode out of her chest at any moment. Inside, she knew the risks of even considering the offer, but seeing Willow in her 'insane' state was beginning to wear down on her. If she could simply think straight, she might know how to reverse the process between herself and her doppelganger. In that regard, the young Wiccan knew that taking the gamble she had taken was well worth the risk. "Please?"

"_Even using the 'nice' words. You want this badly, don't you? And I'm just wondering one thing. What do _you _get out of all this? Surely you know that trading yourself for her isn't something that's like tossing a coin away. I can do whatever I want to you." _

"I get her back. That's all I want."

"_All you want. All you need. Such pretty little words for two lovers._" Rolling her eyes, the dark doppelganger returned to her feet from her kneeled position. _"Blah, blah, blah."_

"_Please… _just change her back. She can't harm you, she doesn't have any Magick."

"_I know. And in addition to the fun idea of having you around for company, that's the reason I'm going to change her back." _Gesturing to the girl cowering in the corner of the room, Dark Willow smiled. _"Let's go visit her, shall we?"_

Crawling over to where Willow was cowering, Tara felt much of the pain from having the memories forced upon her still coursing through her body, making each and every movement she made a challenge. As she finally reached her girl, the Wiccan gently pulled the red-head's hands away from her face.

"Willow, sweetie, please, just look at me." Finally managing to cup the red-head's cheeks despite the small struggle the girl was beginning to put up, Tara stared into the seemingly empty green irises that lay in front of her. Her urge to smile almost briefly came to fruition before the Wiccan remembered what she had just offered the doppelganger standing directly behind her. She didn't need to even think about how much the girl she was holding onto was afraid of the Dark Witch, she only needed to look into those green irises and see the effect that had been forced upon her girl. Managing to swallow down the rage that came flying to her heart as she remembered being forced to watch the doppelganger force 'insanity' back onto her counterpart, Tara took a deep breath and moved her hand down into to grab the red-head's palm. "Just look at me."

"Tara…" Saying the girl's name with a slight amount of confusion to it, Willow's eyes never once showed the faintest sign of emotion to them. And yet, the way those pupils looked at the other girl in front of her held something, a spark, a faint glint of recognition, a longing to know what was going on, any of it could be applied. It was _something. _

"Honey, look at me. We're gonna make you better. I promised you, didn't I?" Staring deeply into the bright green irises that she fondly remembered being lined with unrestrained happiness and joy with each individual smile she had cast in her direction, Tara felt a tear actually welling up in her eye. "You have to stay still, nothing is going to hurt you, I promise."

"_I'll be gentle." _Adding to the Wiccan's comment with a foray of dripping sarcasm, Dark Willow rolled her pitch black eyes. _"Or at least I'll _try_ to."_

"You_ won't_ hurt her anymore, or you won't get me. Understood?" Letting the anger that she felt towards the doppelganger sink into her tone, the blonde Wiccan thought for a moment that the Witch would attack her. When she heard the thick, velvety laugh flow into the air, she actually shuddered with a small amount of fear.

"_Whatever you say. Ask and ye shall receive." _ Turning back to the shaking red-head whose cheek and hand she was still holding, Tara gently rubbed her thumb over the girl's palm as she stared at the face that many times she had thought synonymous with the word 'beautiful'.

"Just be calm." Her heart jumping slightly as she saw the girl nod, Tara heard the doppelganger kneeling down beside her, her black veined hands remaining at her side as she 'waited' for Tara's signal to begin. Taking a deep breath, the Wiccan could still feel how the girl was shaking underneath her touch. As the words came to her mind, she softly began to sing, the words lining the red-head's ears like a warm blanket, ensuring her that she was safe so long as the other girl's touch was upon her.

"_I'm under your spell, nothing I can do, you just took my soul with you _

_You worked your charm so well, Finally I knew, everything I dreamed was true…" _

Giving a simple nod to the doppelganger beside her, Tara braced herself for the tightening of Willow's grip on her hand. Surprisingly silent, Dark Willow reached over and rested her hands against her counter-part's temples, closing her pitch black eyes in the process. Feeling the doppelganger's hands upon her, the real Willow started to squirm slightly, a whimper escaping from her lips as she stared at Tara. Her eyes silently begging to make the other Witch stop, she whimpered again as the Dark Witch's Magicks finally began to ease into her brain, setting every inch of her skin on fire.

"Ssshhh, it's alright, honey. I've got you." Increasing her grip on the red-head's palm, Tara frowned despite her best efforts to summon a smile to her face. "You're gonna be better."

Muttering some Latin incantation under her breath, the Dark Witch pressed her fingers against the other Witch's temples with slightly more pressure, causing yet another whimper to make its way into the air. Glaring at the doppelganger, Tara tore her gaze away in order to make sure that her girl knew that she was still there. Her whimpers only growing more and more painful with each passing second, Willow's green eyes began to show some of their once normal emotions as they stared back at the Wiccan in front of her. Finishing the last Latin word, Dark Willow lifted her fingers' touch from her counterpart and returned to her feet in order to step away. Still shaking, the red-head closed eyes and tore her hand away from Tara in order to press it against her head along with her free hand. Watching the entire scene with pain lining her vision,

"I thought I told you not to hurt her!" Getting onto her feet, Tara stared into the Dark Witch's eyes even as she felt fear taking its grip over her mind. Looking back at the angered Wiccan in front of her, the doppelganger simply smiled.

"_I gave you what you wanted. Now you'll give me something_ I_ want." _Saying the sentence with such calm in her voice that it seemed as if she were simply saying hello, the doppelganger saw the complete and unrestrained fear that suddenly filled out the blue irises staring back at her. Holding out her arms, the Witch smiled. _"Momma wants to show you something."_

Knowing that she had no other choice in the matter, even with Willow still suffering at her side, Tara closed her eyes and took a fearful step forward. Silently praying to the Goddess to protect her, the Wiccan felt a pair of ice cold hands touch her temples. Looking at the way the girl wasn't looking at her, Dark Willow shrugged her shoulders.

"_We can do this with your eyes closed. It's more fun for me if they're open though." _Giving another shrug of her shoulders, the doppelganger closed her pitch black pupils and concentrated on finding the point of interest for her. Her Magicks working their way into her fingertips, she couldn't help but smile as she felt the Wiccan squirm, but remain entirely silent. Minutes passed, and as the doppelganger finally removed her touch from the blonde girl, her senses nearly drunk on the Light Magick that she had absorbed, she stepped away as Tara fell onto her back next to where the real Willow was still cowering with her hands pressed to her head.

"_Just a little gift, Tara. Something that you'll grow to love. It was already in you, you know. The darkness. It's always been. Your family may have lied to you so many times about turning into a Demon, but guess what lays inside all of us?" _Continuing to speak as she turned and walked towards the cell door, Dark Willow's tone had a slightly chuckling and sing-songy sound to it. _"The power to be Dark. Look at your precious little Willow. Everything that was her darkness, is in me. _Is_ me. I am everything she thought of being, but couldn't allow herself to be."_

Shoving a key that appeared out of nowhere into the lock on the door, the Dark Witch cast one last smile in the two Wiccans' direction before shutting the door behind her and disappearing., leaving behind a scene of pain and suffering.

* * *

Looking around her, everything was dark. Not a single shred of light, no color, no sound, just _black._ Shaking her head, Willow felt some safety in knowing that her sense of touch was still working properly, even as her vision seemed to have failed her for the moment.

"Tara?" Feeling more satisfaction in hearing her own voice, the red-head still felt as if her body was on fire, her head threatening to explode at any moment. "Tara, baby, please?"

Nothing but silence confronted her, and that made the Wiccan's heart drop to the very pits of her chest. Reaching out with her hands, she felt sand underneath her touch, the feeling of it cold and uninviting.

"Tara?! _Tara?!_ Please, talk to me!" Still feeling her way along the area in front of her, Willow felt more and more fear sinking into her heart as she realized that even though her eyes were open, she still couldn't see anything. Pulling one of her hands out of the sand and smacking it against her chest in order to ensure that no sand would get into her pupils, the red-head ran a finger against her eye, making sure that her eyes were, without a shred of doubt, open to the world around her.

"Willow?" Hearing a low voice come smashing into her hearing and overwhelm her mind, the Wiccan returned to feeling her way around the sand for the girl. She recognized it, how couldn't she? Tara was here with her, and even though she couldn't see, she was going to find her. Her fingers feeling seemingly endless amounts of sand underneath their touch, the red-head felt her heart stop as she heard the other girl call out her name once more. Following the sound, the Wiccan followed the miles of sand until she finally, at last, felt a piece of fabric underneath her fingertips.

"Tara?" Her hands traversing up in order to make sure that the other girl was indeed there, Willow felt a tear well up in her eyes. "Tara, Tara…"

Hearing the girl endlessly repeating her name, Tara opened her blue eyes, finding her vision to be blurred, although the effect was rapidly clearing. Squinting in an attempt to see better, she felt her heart-beat beginning to increase as she saw who was touching her.

"Willow?" Quickly pushing herself up into a sitting position, the Wiccan simply looked at the red-head, wanting to make sure that the doppelganger had kept her word, and had changed Willow back into her 'normal' self. As far as she could tell, the Dark Witch had. "Sweetie?"

"Tara, oh Goddess…" Reaching out with her hands in an attempt to find the girl again, the red-headed Wiccan felt her way along the sand until Tara took her palm into her hand.

"Honey, I'm right here, see?"

"Tara…I can't…" Her tone losing any of the happiness that she had felt earlier, Willow pressed her free hand against her eyes, ignoring the few grains of sand that made their way into her eyelids in the process. "I can't…"

"Willow, sweetie, it's alright. I'm here." Pulling the crying girl into her lap, Tara rested her chin atop the red tresses that adorned her girl's head. "I found you, remember?"

"Tara, I can't see, I can't see…" Shaking her head despite the somewhat calming presence of the other girl's chin resting on her hair, Willow's hands clung to the shirt in front of her even tighter. "I can't see anything…"

"W-What?" Her stutter returning for a brief moment, the Wiccan looked down at her girl, and felt her heart stop dead in her chest for a single moment.

"I woke up, and I can't see anything. I'm blind, all I can see is this yellow light around you. I can't see anything else!" Her crying growing worse and worse with each passing second, the red-headed Wiccan actually felt herself running out of breath. "I can't see, Tara, I can't see…"

"Sssshhh, it'll be alright, we'll fix it, alright?" Gently running her hand through the red tresses laying in her lap, Tara couldn't even begin to describe what she was feeling. In a single moment, she had gotten Willow back, but at what cost to the girl herself? She couldn't' see at all, and there was no telling if it was only a temporary problem, or a far more permanent one. Until the girl's doppelganger returned, and the question could be asked, all she could do was hold Willow and try to calm her down. "I promise."

"Tara, I can't see you, I wanna see your eyes, your face, your clothes, I want to see _you,_ and I can't do it!" Managing to push the entire sentence out between heavy sobs, Willow shook her head from where it lay in the other Wiccan's lap. "Why can't I see?!"

"Baby, just calm down, please, you're going to make yourself sick." As if to prove her point, a fit of particularly violent coughs began to escape from the Wiccan's mouth, causing her entire body to shake along with them. Minutes passed, and as the fit finally subsided, Tara resumed her gentle caress of the girl's red-hair. "It's going to be alright."

"I…I can't remember anything, please, what happened?" Her sobs actually beginning to stop as she listened to her girl's voice, Willow nevertheless kept her head buried in the soft clothing that surrounded the other Wiccan's soft skin.

"You…the other you made you…you were like me when Glory…" Unsure of how to word the answer that her girl was so desperately seeking, Tara closed her eyes. "We couldn't understand you. You weren't _you."_

"I was insane, wasn't I? I talked babbly and I tried to hurt people, and I screamed, and I couldn't do anything even if I wanted to…" The rest of the babble died on her tongue as more sobs began to pour of her. Able to feel the way the girl's tear were beginning to soak through her clothing to her skin, Tara sighed, and felt something wet inch its way down her cheek.

"It's alright, sweetie. I took care of you." Her fingers undoing any knots in the tresses she was caressing, the Wiccan sighed. "I promised you I'd make you better.

"I promised."

* * *

As she looked down at the somewhat peaceful face that rested in her lap, Tara sighed, and allowed her finger to gently trace the outline of the red-head's cheek. After what seemed to be hours upon hours, Willow had finally succumbed to her body's need for sleep, and had taken her girl's lap as a pillow. In many ways, having Tara touching her made her feel at peace, and safe. Even with the unignorable amount of danger that surrounded them, she could find safety in Tara's arms.

"Tara…" Hearing the girl whisper her name, Tara looked down in time to see an exhausted pair of green eyes staring up at her, although the pupils themselves didn't move.

"Go back to sleep, sweetie, you're safe."

"You're all yellow…" Furrowing her brow, the red-headed Wiccan tilted her head slightly as she looked at her girl from a different angle. "It's so pretty looking…"

"You're not so bad yourself." Looking down at the girl laying her lap, Tara smiled as she focused for a sole moment in order to view the red-head's aura. As her eyes became confronted with the sight of a bright orange color, she smiled. "All orange and red."

"Not as pretty as you." Closing her un-moving eyes, Willow readjusted how she was laying in the Wiccan's lap. "I just wish I could see your face…"

"You will. You'll get better, and you'll be able to look at me all you want." Moving both of her hands in order to glide them through the girl's hair, Tara leaned back against the wall behind her. "I promise."

"Tara, you don't have to promise me anything." Reaching up with her hand, Willow gently moved the limb around until it made contact with the other girl's cheek. "You've done more than enough."

"Honey…" Starting to speak, Tara stopped as she felt Willow's finger awkwardly press down on her soft lips.

"Ssshhh, no words, just cuddles." Smiling as she felt her girl's hands moving slowly and gently through her hair, the red-headed Wiccan sighed. "Just cuddles."

* * *

"Tara…" Saying the girl's name as she heard her girl moving around in the cell, Willow smiled. "Can we not play hide and seek, I don't think I'm in any condition to find you."

"And what if I am?" Finding herself actually wanting to chuckle despite the darkness of the red-head's joke, Tara continued back to the girl with the cup of water in her hand. "What are you going to do about it?"

"I can always withhold snuggles." Smiling brightly, Willow attempted to return to her feet, but felt a gentle hand pushing her back down into a sitting position.

"Don't try to walk, not yet. You need to rest." Gently setting the cup of water into the red-head's hand, Tara frowned. "Crawl before you walk, sweetie."

"So, I'm getting babied now? Not sure how I can respond to that kind of treatment." Rolling her eyes, Willow pressed the cup to her lips, taking a small sip at first before quickening the pace to large gulps until the liquid was completely gone. Smiling at the girl, Tara took the container from her hand and sat it down in the sand, making sure that it was upright in order to prevent any of the landscape from entering the cup.

"You know, I think I might kinda be getting used to not seeing anything…"

"Honey, please, don't talk about this." Stopping her girl in mid-sentence, Tara sighed. "You're back, and that's all that matters."

"Tara, can I ask you a question?" Turning her head towards where she assumed the other girl was sitting, the red-headed Wiccan reached out and laid her hand on top of the warm palm that she found to be outstretched.

"What, sweetie?"

"How did you get my sanity back?" As soon as she heard the question, Tara fell entirely silent, her mind struggling to find a way to even respond to the inquiry. Hearing no response, Willow frowned.

"Tara, tell me."

"I…I don't wanna talk about it…"

"Tara, _tell me._ " Struggling to her feet even as Tara tried to hold her down, Willow leaned on the wall next to her for balance. "How did you get my sanity back?"

"I…I…"

"Tara…" Taking a wobbly step towards the other girl, the red-head's expression showed nothing but an intense mixture of worry and fear. "What did you do?"

"I…I offered myself to her…I told her that if she made you sane again, she could have me." Lowering her head even though she knew the other girl wouldn't be able to see the action, Tara nevertheless heard the explosion that came from her girl in response to her confession.

_"YOU DID WHAT?!"_ Yelling out the answer, Willow's hands flew back to her sides, causing her balance to once again become unbalanced. As she wobbled on her own two feet, the red-head's expression never once changed. "Tara, are you _insane?"_

"Honey, we needed you to get better. I_ had_ to do it."

"You didn't have to do anything!" Turning around too quickly, the red-headed Wiccan fell to the sandy ground below, her hands stumbling to push herself back up. Rushing to her girl's side, Tara reached out in order to take hold of the other girl's hand, but felt shock run through her mind as Willow squirmed out of her grip. "No, I can do it myself!"

"Willow, sweetie, you're just angry. Let me help you."

"I almost lost you once, I'm not gonna let you give yourself to…to…to the dark and veiny me! I'm not worth it!"

"_So, your little girl isn't insane? That's an interesting twist. Could have sworn that was the side-effect of having your connection severed." _Pleased to see both of the Wiccan's heads turn towards her as she entered the room, Dark Willow smiled widely. _"But then again, darling little Willow's always been a special case, hasn't she?" _

"Get away from us." Actually snarling the answer back at her counterpart, the real Willow felt Tara gently pulling her onto her feet and supporting her. "Haven't you done enough?"

"_Oohh, somebody's being a feisty little Witch." _Snorting in response to the snarl she had received, Dark Willow rolled her pitch black eyes as she continued on her path towards the two girls. _"And yet, I'm somehow more threatened by a small rat than I am by you." _

"Stay away from her." Continuing to hold the other Wiccan back, Tara felt a shiver run up and down her spine as she realized that her girl's double was looking straight at her.

"_Oh, don't worry, Tara. I'm not here for her. I'm here for _you. _That was part of our agreement, wasn't it?" _As she spoke, Dark Willow's tone seemingly was it' normal 'shade' of heartless evil, but in addition to it, there was a small bit of actual laughter. _"So, just come over here, and we'll finish this quick as a wink."_

"You're _not_ touching her!" Struggling to free herself from Tara's touch, Willow's entire expression showed nothing but pure hatred towards the doppelganger standing only a few feet away from her. "You want anyone, take me."

"_We've already been down this route, dear little Willow. I had you for months, don't you remember? All the times we talked to one another, lived with each other, sat through the Coven's Rituals together? I'm exactly what you tried to get rid of." _

"You're…you're what?" The anger in her voice having been replaced by complete shock, the real Willow stared blankly at the Dark Witch even though she could see only the faint outline of a pure, blood-red color.

"_I _am _the Magicks, don't you understand? I'm the very thing that you tried so hard to block off, to destroy, to rip from your heart and soul, but couldn't do. Every single fear you ever had about Magick, I am. Every time you ever thought about taking over, I am that power and desire. Every single moment you had fear that Tara would never come back to you, I am. Everything you've ever hated, feared, wanted, lusted, I am."_

"You're not me. I'm not like that." Shaking her head somewhat furiously, Willow felt Tara's grip on her strengthen in order to prevent her from falling. "Tara, she's not me…tell me she isn't me…"

"_And so, once again, you cling to her for support." _Transferring her gaze from the real Willow to Tara, the doppelganger smiled. _"Can you even imagine what you put her through when you left? I have those memories as well, maybe I should give them to you like I did with the others. It might make you understand." _

"Tara, what is she talking about?" Turning her head towards the sound of her girl's voice, the red-headed Wiccan's expression held nothing but fear. "Tara, please, talk to me…"

"She gave me your memories…of w-when you tried to kill Buffy, Giles, and me…"

"_She knows, little Willow. She knows you inside and out now, in more than ways than one." _

"Tara…"

"_Come now, Tara. You'll be back soon, I promise. Can't have you and the little one apart for too long." _Holding out her hand, Dark Willow smiled at knowing the fact that even though her counterpart would beg and plead otherwise, Tara would come to her. The agreement, while not set in stone, could easily be reversed otherwise, and once again, the real Willow would be lost in the sea of insanity that she had been drowning in for weeks now. Swallowing hard, Tara loosened her grip from Willow's body, and slowly took a step forward. Feeling the absence of her girl's familiar and warm touch on her arm, the red-headed Wiccan took a step forward, her arms flailing as they searched for the girl.

"Tara, no, please, don't!" Her tone only containing desperation now, Willow felt tears beginning to charge through her body. "Tara…"

"_She'll be back soon." _Scuffing at the girl's desperate actions, the dark witch extended her hand and watched as a small thread of Dark Magicks swirled around her counterpart's body, holding her in place. _"There. Don't wanna have you hurting yourself."_

"Tara, please, don't go!" Struggling against the Magicks holding her immobile, the red-headed Wiccan felt a single tear drop flow down her cheek, with more threatening to follow it. "Don't take her, please!"

"_All part of our agreement, Willow. She doesn't hurt…much." _Her black eyes showing no emotion, the doppelganger watched as Tara made her way over to where the other Wiccan was standing. _"Calm her down, and then let's go."_

"Willow, sweetie, listen to me." Her hands gently cupping the other girl's cheeks, Tara felt every inch of her chest erupting into pain as she saw the tears flowing down her girl's cheeks. "I'll be alright, I promise."

"Tara…"

"I promise. You have to be strong." As she heard the girl's words, Willow lifted her head slightly.

"Like an Amazon?" Nodding even though she knew that the red-head wouldn't be able to see it, Tara leaned forward and planted her lips against the pair seemingly waiting for her. As she felt the warm contact from her girl, Willow calmed slightly, although the tears continued to roll down her face.

"I'll be back, I promise."

"_Would it help if I promised as well?" _Snickering slightly, Dark Willow smiled as she gestured towards the door. _"We have to go, Tara. Come along." _

"Tara, don't let her take you…" Shaking her head as she felt the pair of hands leave her cheeks, the real Willow resumed her struggle to free herself from the Dark Magicks holding her immobile.

"I'll be back…" Taking steps backwards as she continued to look at the red-head, Tara felt her breath stop for a moment as the doppelganger rested her hands on her shoulder.

"_Say bye-bye to Willow, Tara. We have things to do, things to see, all that jazz." _Opening the door behind her, the doppelganger pulled Tara out with her, and effectively slammed the metal object behind the two of them. As she heard the door shut with a loud clang that echoed off of every wall around her, Willow felt something inside her starting to awaken, although the feeling of it was extremely subdued due to the exhaustion plaguing her body. Squirming with renewed vigor, she felt the cold feeling of the sand meet her body as the Magicks themselves disappeared as quickly as they had arrived. Pushing herself up onto her knees, the red-headed Wiccan crawled towards the door, her heart beating faster and faster inside her chest as the thoughts of what her counterpart could, and possibly _would_, do to Tara. As the cold metal of the door met her hands, she curled her fingers into fists and repeatedly banged on the door, not noticing or feeling the small spark that traveled across her fingertips. More and more, the spark traveled through her body and brain, before finally settling into place amongst the place where her connection had effectively been severed.

Finally stopping as she felt her hands becoming overwhelmed with pain, Willow curled herself into a ball, and let the tears that she had been holding back for the past few minutes travel down her cheek before falling to the ground to meet the sand.


	18. Coming Home

**Chapter 18**

From where she was sitting against the cold and harsh rock of the cell, Willow lifted her head from its cradle in her lap, and looked up as the unmistakable sound of the cell door slamming shut ran out through the room. Hearing a small groan in a voice that she couldn't mistake if she tried, the former Witch crawled towards the sound, her vision almost instantly becoming flooded with the orange color of Tara's aura.

"Tara, baby, talk to me, please…" Feeling her way along the sand for the other girl's body, the red-head almost gave a small sigh of relief as she felt a familiar palm come into contact with her own. "Tara…?"

"Willow?" As the name passed from her girl's lips, Willow couldn't help but let out a small whimper at how weak the sound was. Whatever her doppelganger had done to Tara, it obviously hadn't been good.

"I'm here, baby, I'm here."

"Willowtree…" Smiling slightly, the blonde Wiccan reached up and searched with her hand until she found the red-head's cheek. "My Willow…"

"Tara, listen to me…is there anyone else in the room right now?" Her voice's tone and volume dropping to a mere whisper as she spoke, the red-head had no way of knowing if her doppelganger was in the room with the two of them, apart from Tara. In the hours since she had regained her sanity at the loss of her sight, Tara had effectively become Willow's eyes as well as her own.

"N-N-No…" Lifting her head slightly from its pillow in the sand, Tara looked around, and upon being satisfied that there really was no-one else in the room besides her and her girl, she nodded.

"We need to find a way to get out of here, Tara. I'm not going to let some dark and veiny version of me hurt you, just because she could make me all sane-y again."

"Willow, it's too dangerous…" Shaking her head weakly, Tara gave a small sigh as her girl continued to hold her hand. "I don't w-want you getting hurt…"

"I don't care if _I_ get hurt, I just want _you_ to be safe…" Frowning, Willow leaned down and searched with her lips until she found a pair waiting for her touch. "That's all that matters to me. I don't care if she hurts me, kills me…as long as you're safe…"

"Ssshhh, no more talking…" Smiling, the Wiccan pulled the other woman's head down until their lips were once again touching each other with their gentle caress. "Just hold me for a while…"

"Tara, we can't wait any longer, we need to talk about this….Honey, please…" Still holding Tara's hand as the two of them sat amongst the sand that composed the cell's floor, Willow once again searched the room. Even if she could only see auras at that very moment, it was at least better than being completely blind against the world around her. "Baby, please, we _have_ to get out of here…"

"I know." Nodding somewhat weakly, Tara took another deep breath. The pain from her girl's doppelganger's 'gift' from earlier had finally started to subside. She couldn't even begin to think about what the Dark Witch was even trying to accomplish, besides making her suffer through large amounts of pain from the same Magicks that she and Willow had fought so hard against. "How?"

"I don't know…you gotta tell me what's around us. You…you have to see for me. I don't know what else to do…

"We _need_ to get out of here though…"

* * *

"_You again?"_ Rolling her eyes as she heard the First's assumed form's voice, Dark Willow couldn't help but feel annoyed. _"Didn't I already drain part of you? I don't think I need a refill right now, but thanks for coming anyway."_

"You didn't think you could get rid of me that easily, did you?" Rolling its eyes as it spoke, the First continued it's circuit around its former partner, intent on looking around at the fortress that the doppelganger had managed to recreate around her. "I feel a little hurt. I'm not like some bug you can squash and then walk away from."

"_If only you were. Getting rid of you would be so much easier."_ Once again rolling her completely blackened eyes, the Dark Witch turned on her heel and stared at the recently arrived entity. _"So what is it you want? Me to apologize to you? Kiss your feet? Make love to you so that you can feel something?"_

"It isn't wise to test me."

"_I think we both already know that I can do something to you that you didn't even think was possible until I did it."_ Smiling slightly, the doppelganger took a step towards where the First was standing, the smile never once leaving her face. _"I can _touch_ you, can't I? Rip some of that power out of you that so many people have wanted over the centuries? I'm the same thing as you. All powerful and everything."_

"You're getting cocky, and that's one thing I don't do." Rolling it's vessel's eyes, the First finally stopped dead in it's tracks in order to gaze threateningly into the Dark Witch's eyes. "That's going to make sure you don't get out of this entire plan you've thrown yourself into. Being cocky is just as bad as being utterly stupid."

"_See, the thing you're doing right now, it really makes me want to get rid of you permanently, even though I know I can't do that." _

"Such a bitch isn't it? Being able to touch me, but knowing that it won't do anything to make me stop coming back?" A evil coated smirk gracing it's expression, the First laughed as it turned around and headed towards the same direction it had appeared in. "Good luck. I'm enjoying watching the show. Hopefully the twist ending I'm seeing will come soon…"

"_And what's that supposed to mean exactly?" _Nearly snarling the answer in an extremely inhuman voice, the doppelganger could only watch in frustration as the First disappeared from the room, leaving her alone once again, with only the vessel's final words to keep her company.

"Oh, you'll find out soon enough…"

* * *

"The door won't open, sweetie, I've already tried it…" Tara said as she watched her fellow Wiccan trailing her hand along the wall in an attempt to find the door that led to the interior of the castle. "It's not going to open-"

Stopping in mid-sentence, the blonde Witch watched in amazement as Willow found the handle on the heavy metal door, and with a small struggle, pushed it open just a crack. "…How?"

"I…I don't know, all I did was push on it a little…" The red-head answered, her expression somewhat filled with shock. "Did…since the evil-y version of me locked it…am I the only other person that can open it?"

"I don't know…" Struggling to her feet, Tara stumbled to her feet, her body still exhausted from what her girl's doppelganger had at least tried to do to her. But still, she pushed on, knowing that there would be plenty of time to rest and regroup once she and Willow escaped and found a way back to Sunnydale. Once they were back, she had no doubt that the two of them, along with the rest of the Scoobies, could find any sort of way to get rid of the doppelganger, and, hopefully, restore her girl's sight.

"Tara, you…you gotta lead me, you know the castle better than I do." Willow said, her words shaking her fellow Wiccan out of her thoughts. "You have to be my eyes…"

Giving a small nod in response to Willow's question, Tara took that warm hand into her own and held onto it tightly. Pushing the door open further with a small struggle, the two Wiccans almost immediately could feel their heart-beats increasing inside their chest. With absolutely no way of knowing exactly where the doppelganger was, the danger they were facing was…more than likely it could deadly.

As she felt her way along the wall with Tara's help, Willow could feel her heart threatening to beat its way out of her chest. Even with Tara holding onto her hand, she still knew that the amount of danger that she was placing both herself and her girl in was enough that the risks were sky high. If her doppelganger even_ considered_ the idea that they might be able to escape from their prison, the alternatives…she couldn't even bring herself to think about them. She'd had enough of feeling afraid and useless. All she wanted was to get back to Sunnydale…she wanted to go _home._

"Is there anything you can remember? You've been out of the cell more than I have." The red-head asked, wishing more and more than she still had her vision. "There has to be some way that she can get between here and Sunnydale so quickly…"

"I don't know…" Tara responded, her blue eyes rapidly scanning and rescanning every inch of the hallway in front of them. It was eerily quiet, as if there wasn't a single thing around, not even insects or rodents. The more the Wiccan thought about how quiet it was, the more she began thinking about just how powerful Willow's doppelganger truly was. With just a simple touch, she had managed to force memories into her brain, memories that had been from Willow's mind originally.

It was…_disturbing._ Everything her mother had ever said about Magicks told her that this much Power, it wasn't natural. It was as if the balance that normally existed between the Light and Dark Magicks within a person had been thrown forcefully into one direction, never to return. Whatever Magicks Willow had kept locked inside her, they had exploded out into the doppelganger as soon as Amy and whatever had possessed her ripped the Magicks out of her girl.

"She could have a portal…unless she teleported both times. You…you did that right? When you were…veiny?" The blonde Wiccan finally asked, turning her head away from the hallway for a split second in order to look at Willow. "You…you did teleport, didn't you?"

"I did…three times." Willow answered, giving a small nod as well. "It…The Magicks did it."

Giving only a small nod in response, Tara turned and gave a small kiss on the other Wiccan's forehead before quietly shushing her.

"We'll talk about it when we get out of here." She said as she gave the hand she was holding a small tug, and the two of them started down the hallway yet again.

* * *

As she moved down the hallway, the doppelganger growled slightly, the First's words still echoing repeatedly in her mind. What exactly had the thing meant by 'you'll find out soon enough'? Was it some kind of threat? Did the First have some kind of way to get back at her for draining a portion of the former's power? So many questions. She didn't like not knowing the answers to questions that plagued her mind.

_"Oh Tara, I've got some anger I need to work through, and you're just the girl t-"_ She started before her black eyes noticed the door that still lay open. Frowning, she floated over to the object and looked inside the normally occupied cell. Upon finding it empty, her frown deepened, the action becoming laced with a slight amount of anger and annoyance. _"Alright, guess the girl I'm looking for isn't home right now…_

_"I wonder where-ever did she and my other self go off to...?"_

* * *

"What about in here? I feel a door-y thing here…" Willow said, her fingers briefly brushing over a door as she and Tara continued on their way down the hall. "I…I feel something in here…"

"Feel what?" Tara asked, stopping only because the other Wiccan insisted on it. More than anything, she wanted to leave the castle. It was no longer the peaceful refuge it had been earlier. Now it was only…to put it simply, scary. "Baby, what do you feel?"

"I feel…like there's a part of me behind the door…" The red-head answered, she herself even unsure of what she meant. "We…we should go in here…"

"Sweetie, what about…" Starting to voice an argument, Tara closed her blue eyes and nodded as the words died on her tongue. "Alright, but we have to hurry, ok? We have to get out of here…"

Answering only with a nod, the Wiccan opened the door and waited for Tara to lead her into whatever lay within the room itself. They had only taken a handful of steps before Willow felt the hand holding her own stiffen dramatically.

"Tara, what…what's in here?"

"…a portal…" Was the only answer Tara could give, her blue eyes staring wondrously into the swirling Magick fueled portal. "I…I think it's how the other you has been getting around…"

"A portal?!" Gripping the hand holding onto her own tighter still, the red-headed Wiccan moved at equally speed as her girl walked towards where the portal lay silently. The amount of power rolling off it was almost overwhelming in its intensity. It didn't feel Light or Dark, but rather…it just felt like it was there, with no ties to any idea or person or thing. "Tara, we…where does it go to? Does it go back to Sunnydale?"

"I…I think so…" Staring into the greenish and bluish tint that made up the portal itself, Tara squinted as she struggled to see the image barely holding itself together against the swirling colors. "Do…do you think we should…?"

"Yes! I don't care where it takes us, as long as it isn't here!"

"_Going somewhere?"_ Even before her doppelganger had finished her sentence, Willow could feel her heart wanting to stop dead in her chest. As Tara gripped her hand tighter than she had before, the red-head could hardly believe that this was happening. They were so close to getting back to Sunnydale…_so close…_It _couldn't _end like this.

"Tara, come on, please…" Even though she couldn't see what was around her, besides the auras of both Tara and her darker counterpart, Willow knew that the portal that led back to Sunnydale was only a few feet away from them. All they had to do was _run._ "Tara, _please,_ baby, we have to go…"

"_Oh, come now, you didn't really think that I was going to just allow you to escape…" _The doppelganger's voice was coming closer and closer to her now, and the closer it came, the more the red-headed Wiccan simply wanted this entire nightmare to end. She just wanted to be home, resting in bed with Tara, sight or no sight, she just wanted to be safe in her girl's arms.

"_What's the matter? Cat got your tongues?" _ As she floated down to where the two Wiccans were still standing only feet away from her portal, Dark Willow found herself chuckling. The entire situation seemed so ridiculous to her. It had taken this long for her counterpart to figure out the secret behind escaping from the door? That only Willow herself could open it? Meaning _both_ of them? _"Gotta say, The First was right. This _is _an unexpected twist in the plot."_

"Stay away from us…" The real Willow voiced, trying so hard to make her tone sound menacing and angry. "You're not stopping us!"

"_Willow, Willow, Willow…I can stop you whenever I want. I _am _you, don't you realize that? I've told you so many times before now, and still you refuse to believe that."_

"Because I know it's not true!"

"_Alright. Denial is a powerful thing, isn't it, Tara?" _The doppelganger asked, turning it's blackened eyes on where the Wiccan was standing. _"Don't those memories I gave you prove that?"_

"It doesn't prove anything that you wanted it to." Shaking her head, the blonde Wiccan scowled at the Dark Witch. "All it's done is prove that she loves me."

"And we're leaving…" Giving the hand holding onto her own a small tug, Willow took a step towards where she could feel the portal's presence. Her legs falling into step even as she continued to look at the Dark Witch, Tara couldn't understand what the doppelganger was waiting for. The black-haired version of her girl made no moves to stop them, made no moves to voice or start a spell. She just stood there, watching them with those solid black eyes. As she stepped foot into the portal, the feeling of the Magick fueled thing engulfing her body spreading through her, Willow never once let up the pressure with which she was holding onto Tara's hand.

"_Remember Tara, I have something of you, and you have something of me…Seems like an even trade, doesn't it?" _Was the only thing either Witch heard from the doppelganger's voice disappeared from their range of hearing. As she continued to hold onto her girl's hand for dear life, Willow couldn't feel anything else around her as the portal pulled and tugged at them, almost as if it wanted to separate the two of them from each other. Still, as she felt Tara's fingers squeezing her own in response to her squeezes, she felt somewhat safe, despite the somewhat rough way the portal was feeling.

She couldn't tell how long she and Tara floated within the portal, the feeling of weightlessness almost becoming the normal sensation in her body before it finally drifted away and was replaced by the feeling of a wooden floor hitting her back and sides. Groaning as she looked around the room, the red-headed Wiccan felt somewhat relieved that there were so many auras around her that she knew that they had to be back in Sunnydale. It was the only thing that made sense anymore…the auras _had_ to be the rest of the Scoobies…

"Tara?" Searching through the crowd for the familiar orangeish aura that always surrounded her girl, she felt her heart beat calm back down as she found that aura lying beside her. "Tara, baby, talk to me…"

_"Willow?!"_ From behind her, she could hear Dawn's voice and a gentle pair of hands helping her back onto her feet. "Willow…ok, major case of the wiggins being had right about now…"

"Tara?!" Ignoring everything and everyone around her, the red-headed Wiccan could only focus on the organish aura still lying on the floor. "TARA?!"

"Wills, Wills, it's alright, it's alright…" Stepping in front of her, Xander pulled his oldest friend into his arms and squeezed her tight. "Hey, calm down…"

"Xander, stop it, I need to talk to Tara!" Squirming violently against the man's grip, Willow finally stopped as she saw the aura moving about slightly, the movement accompanied only by a slight groan. "Tara, baby, please…"

"Willow?" As she heard the Wiccan's voice, the red-head sighed happily and finally relaxed in the arms holding her.

"Oh Goddess, Tara…thank the Goddess…" She whispered under her breath, the adrenaline that had fueled her body's movements and her mind finally beginning to drain out of her system. "I thought…I couldn't lose you again…"

"Guys, come on, let's get her upstairs." Buffy said, moving to Tara's side in order to gently and carefully help her up. "Dawn, come here and help me."

From what she could hear from where she was standing, Willow heard nothing more from Tara. Taking into account that the journey back here had been extremely stressing, she tried to calm herself by telling her mind that everything was going to be alright once more. They were back in Sunnydale, both of them were alright, and that, for the moment at least, they were safe.

"Willow, you wanna explain how you're not all insane in the brain anymore?" Xander asked as he once again held onto the silent woman in his arms. "You've been gone maybe an hour…"

* * *

"And you're absolutely sure?" As she heard Giles ask the question yet again, Willow sighed and nodded. She was sure that he was once again moving a finger around in front of her eyes, trying to make her pupils follow the digit, but to no avail.

"I'm telling you, Giles, all I can see is…your aura, I guess. That's what Tara called it." Leaning back fully into the couch beneath her, the red-headed Wiccan sighed and closed her eyes. "I can't see anything else."

"So it would appear." Giving a sigh of his own, the former Watcher leaned back in the chair he was sitting in and rubbed his eyes. "While our situation is most certainly better than it has been for the past week or so, I'm sure I don't need to say that we're still in a great deal of danger."

"You can say that again. Considering that the black and veiny me can somehow stop time enough to…to…" Running a hand through her no doubt dirty hair, Willow leaned down until her head was laying in her lap. She didn't even want to think about what her doppelganger had done to Tara. Ever since they had emerged from the other side of the portal, the Wiccan had been asleep, breathing, nothing wrong. She had said a few words to Willow, but other than that, she had been silent. Giles claimed it was exhaustion. Willow could almost guarantee it was something else entirely.

"Is Tara ok?"

"Yes, she's perfectly fine. She's resting as we speak. You have my word." Returning his glasses to their proper place on his face, Giles rose back to his feet and took the Wiccan's hand gently into his own. "Something I think you yourself should be doing. You've been through an incredible ordeal in the past weeks, and I can't imagine how exhausted you must feel."

"I can't sleep, you still need to find out a way to defeat the evil and veiny me…" As if she were betraying herself, the Wiccan yawned before the end of her sentence, causing what she was sure to be a look from Giles. "I can't sleep knowing…knowing that I put Tara in danger again…"

"What happened was neither your fault nor your responsibility, Willow." Sitting down beside the red-head on the couch, the former Watcher rested his hand on the girl's knee in a comforting fashion. "What happened…it was beyond your control. It's clear to us that the First had allied itself with this Amy long before you arrived. It preyed on the fact that the Magicks inside you were there. Even if you had somehow had a part in unleashing them, it certainly _doesn't_ mean you_ deserve_ any blame."

"They were in me the whole time, Giles." Looking in the direction she was hearing the man's voice from, Willow frowned. "The Magicks. The whole time they were talking to me, they were waiting for me to unleash them or someone to free them."

Looking away in order to spare the man her expression of guilt, the red-headed Wiccan sighed. "It _is_ my fault. Because of me, some evil-y version of a Witch is running around hurting people I love."

"And so you think you should be punished." The statement was very clearly meant to be a question, and as the Wiccan looked back at the man, she knew that the look on his face had to be somewhat smug. "Willow, this guilt that you carry, it doesn't suit you."

"I've done a lot of things that don't 'suit' me, Giles." She replied, giving another sigh as the memories of what she did during her time as Dark Willow came flooding back into her mind's eye. "Stuff that_ I_ didn't even know I could do."

"And so you think that you don't deserve any of our compassion or forgiveness?" Somewhat saddened at the fact that the young girl still hadn't fully forgiven herself for what she had done during her Dark Magick fueled rage, the former Watcher stood up in order to help the Wiccan onto her feet. "Willow, you need sleep. Please, at least do that for Tara, if not for me."

"I….I…" Giving a sigh as her exhausted mind failed to draw a reason for her to stay awake any longer, Willow finally nodded and allowed the former Watcher to help her to her feet. Feeling a strong hand take her own, the Wiccan allowed herself to be lead across the floor, up the stairs, and finally into what she assumed was the same bedroom that Tara was in.

"Tara?" She asked quietly, keeping her voice to a barely audible whisper. Hearing a small groan, the Wiccan frowned. She hated knowing that her girl was lying in bed, totally exhausted. It made everything worse to remember that a large portion of the cause belonged the doppelganger of herself. _Only more reason to feel guilty…_

"Do you need anything? Water? Food?" Giles asked quietly as he helped the red-head into bed next to her girl. "Anything at all?"

"No thanks…I…I just wanna be with Tara for a little while." Willow replied as she felt the softness and warmth of the bed meeting her body all around. Her hands gently searching for the body next to her, she smiled slightly as she wrapped her arms around the still sleeping form of Tara. Giving only a small nod, Giles patted the Wiccan's hand before he turned and headed for the door.

"We're glad to have you back again, Willow." He said, the words barely audible as he kept his voice to a whisper in order to prevent himself from waking Tara. "Try to get some rest."

"Easier said than done." Willow answered, her remark going unheard by the Watcher as he shut the door and returned to the area where his on-going research continued without end. Resting her head down so close to where her girl's head also lye, the red-headed Wiccan leaned forward and gently touched Tara's lips with her own in a kiss goodnight. Sighing sadly as she pulled away and closed her eyes, Willow tried to will her exhausted, confused, and disheveled mind to sleep.


End file.
